KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi says some journalists write stories to tarnish his name.
Mkhwanazi was speaking on Friday during the third day of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into criminality, political interference, and corruption. The commission is chaired by retired Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga. Its public hearings are taking place at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria.
During his testimony, Mkhwanazi told evidence leader Advocate Mahlape Sello SC that on September 30 2024 he received a WhatsApp message from Brown Mogotsi, a comrade of Police Minister Senzo Mchunu.
Warned of impending smear campaign
Mkhwanazi said Mogotsi told him that there is an attempt to bring a case of defeating the ends of justice against him.
He said Mogotsi said the case is about Mkhwanazi being suspected of interfering in the arrest of a senior Department of Correctional Services official who is accused of running a drug cartel at a prison in Empangeni, KZN. The incident happened in January 2024.
Mkhwanazi said around 2024 and 2025, journalists started writing stories to push a certain narrative. That he is “protecting a prison official accused of peddling drugs”.
“A journalist called Mzilikazi wa Afrika called me about the Empangeni incident and asked me what happened and asked me about allegations that I interfered with a police operation. I explained to him the details of what happened, and he said he would not publish a story because there is no story to write…
“Then Mzilikazi called me at a later stage and said a [journalist] colleague of his told him he is forced to publish the story about the Empangeni incident. Mzilikazi told me that the journalist and Major-General Feroz Khan are close… There are players within media houses that are part of tarnishing my image,” said Mkhwanazi.
An attempt to make him back off case
“The story found itself in the newspaper on Sunday… I know the name of the journalist who wrote the story. I forgot the name of the Sunday newspaper. And I won’t mention the name of the journalist… The journalist is part of the squad of false writing. The journalist wanted to paint me as a bad person and tarnish my image…,” said Mkhwanazi.
Mkhwanazi said the Sunday story published by the journalist was meant to put “pressure” on him to “back off and step away from investigating the SAPS disciplinary hearing of Khan”.
Khan heads the SAPS Counter and Security Intelligence department.
Mkhwanazi, who is the commission of inquiry’s first witness, said the bulk of his testimony will be about the work of the KZN SAPS political killings task team. Also on criminality, political interference and corruption in the criminal justice system.
The commission continues.
