General Mkhwanazi Tells Parliament Khumalo’s Arrest Was a “Political Project” to Halt Crime Intelligence Investigations

KZN Police Commissioner Accuses Anti-Corruption Unit of Political Targeting

KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has alleged that the arrest of Crime Intelligence boss General Dumisani Khumalo was part of a politically motivated operation designed to disrupt investigations into powerful criminal syndicates operating in Gauteng.

Testifying before Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Police Service, Mkhwanazi claimed the state’s Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) had been used to advance a “political project” rather than genuine law enforcement.

“The arrest of Khumalo is a project to stop criminal investigations in Gauteng. The letter from the minister to disband the political killings task team is a project to stop criminal investigations in Gauteng,”
Mkhwanazi told MPs during his testimony.

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Alleged Plan to Derail Crime Intelligence Reforms

According to Mkhwanazi, the so-called “project” went beyond Khumalo’s arrest. It included disbanding the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) in KwaZulu-Natal and shutting down operations that were beginning to expose cross-provincial criminal networks.

He said the task team had been wrongly accused of overstepping its mandate by probing crimes in Gauteng, when in fact, its investigations had uncovered syndicates that spanned multiple provinces.

Mkhwanazi alleged that this disruption was deliberate, aimed at protecting influential individuals who could be implicated in organized criminal activity.

“Unlawful Appointment” Claim a Pretext, Says Mkhwanazi

Khumalo was arrested by IDAC at an airport, with authorities claiming the arrest related to an unlawful appointment within Crime Intelligence.

Mkhwanazi dismissed that justification as politically engineered, saying the contested post carried a salary of less than R1 million per year and could not reasonably justify such a dramatic intervention.

“If I had the opportunity to cross-question Adv Johnson, I would prove to you it’s a lie,”
Mkhwanazi said, accusing the Directorate of misrepresenting the facts to Parliament.

Selective Justice and Double Standards

Mkhwanazi contrasted Khumalo’s arrest with that of former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe, who faced R93 million fraud charges but was allowed to hand himself over, appear in court the same day, and be released on bail.

The commissioner said this contrast illustrated selective justice and political interference within the state’s anti-corruption apparatus.

“The difference in how cases are handled exposes double standards. Some individuals are treated with dignity, while others are publicly humiliated for smaller issues,”
he said.

Committee Urged to Probe Political Influence in Law Enforcement

Mkhwanazi urged Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee to investigate what he described as political manipulation within law enforcement, warning that such interference was undermining public trust and crippling crime-fighting efforts.

He said the continued politicization of police operations risked weakening Crime Intelligence and emboldening organized criminal groups that operate across provincial and national lines.

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Ongoing Controversy in Crime Intelligence

General Dumisani Khumalo’s arrest has drawn significant attention amid ongoing debates over accountability and internal politics within South Africa’s security agencies.

The matter, now before Parliament, could open broader discussions about the independence of Crime Intelligence, oversight of anti-corruption bodies, and the limits of ministerial authority in operational policing matters.