'He told me he’s very close with the Minister’ - Mkhwanazi on Mchunu and Mogotsi ties

KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi says he received Brown Mogotsi’s cellphone number from Cedrick Nkabinde, and was told by Nkabinde that Mogotsi was “very close” to Police Minister Senzo Mchunu.

Mkhwanazi was testifying before Parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating explosive allegations he made earlier this year, including claims of political interference, covert operations, and irregular attempts to shut down the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT).

Mkhwanazi told the committee he did not know who Mogotsi was when Mogotsi contacted him in October 2024. He said he turned to the Minister’s Chief of Staff, Cedrick Nkabinde, for clarity.

“I phoned Nkabinde to ask him,” said Mkhwanazi. “He told me that [Mogotsi] is very close with the Minister. But he said he’s not working for the department. He’s the person who told me who Mogotsi was.”

According to Mkhwanazi, Nkabinde even sent him Mogotsi’s number. “That’s why I even asked him to give me Mogotsi’s number, and he sent me Mogotsi’s number, to confirm that it’s the same person we’re talking about.”

Chief Evidence Leader Advocate Norman Arendse SC asked Mkhwanazi if that was why he had publicly stated, during a previous meeting of the police portfolio committee in March, that Mogotsi was “an associate of the Minister”.

“That’s correct,” replied Mkhwanazi. “I was quoting on what I learned from Mr Nkabinde.”

Mkhwanazi also described a shifting and eventually deteriorating relationship with Nkabinde, whom he said was unqualified for the powerful position of Chief of Staff.

“My impression is that Mr Nkabinde was appointed Chief of Staff and he had no clue what a Chief of Staff does,” said Mkhwanazi. “He had to learn as he was going.”

He added that Nkabinde even contacted his predecessor for help and was coached in his early days in the office.

Over time, Mkhwanazi said he became uncomfortable with Nkabinde’s growing political behaviour and visibility in meetings where he held no formal role.

“I started monitoring his social media and WhatsApp statuses. He talks about politics and he displays T-shirts of political parties, rallies, and all those things, which is now away from what a Chief of Staff is supposed to do. That’s when I started realising that maybe what I was hearing about his involvement in interfering with police work might be true.”

Despite these concerns, Mkhwanazi said he continued to communicate with Nkabinde through the first half of 2025, often at official events, summits, and departmental meetings.

“There’s been a lot of conversation between me and him in between. The Minister would be there, and he comes with his staff, so we’d talk.”

One of their final substantive conversations took place at the Beechwood Hotel in Johannesburg, where Mkhwanazi said he warned Nkabinde that the truth would come out.

“I had a heart-to-heart talk with him,” Mkhwanazi testified. “He said, ‘Hey, I don’t know anything about what’s happening.’ I said to him, ‘Boss, the truth always comes out. So whatever that is happening right now, it’s going to come out. You better be on the right side of the law.’”

Their relationship ended shortly after Mkhwanazi held a public press briefing on 6 July, he said. 

“We’ve been talking up until most recently,” he told Parliament. “I think after my press briefing, then we passed each other. Now, we don’t talk to each other.”

Mkhwanazi also revealed how his attempts to raise concerns directly with the Minister were blocked or ignored. After trying to engage through both Nkabinde and the National Commissioner, he eventually sent Cele a direct WhatsApp message on 5 April 2025, asking for an urgent meeting

In the message, read into the parliamentary record , Mkhwanazi wrote:

“Sawubona Minister. Please forgive for writing this message directly, but I feel that I must respectfully request a meeting in order to deal with internal issues within our organisation which affect me and my family and have the potential of destabilising our crime fighting efforts.”

“I tried to reach out through Nkabinde in his private capacity in January this year, and later I spoke to him in his capacity as Chief of Staff. Again, I had a special request to the National Commissioner to try and secure the meeting before our appearance before the Portfolio Committee on Police.”

“This situation is escalating, and it has the potential of demoralising our hard-working members. There are even politicians that are using these social media posts to sow divisions within SAPS. I do not like what is happening, hence I feel that the Minister must call us into a meeting so that we can air out everything that is dominating the media space.”

“It is my plea that the Minister calls the National Commissioner Fannie Masemola, Lt-General Shadrack Sibiya, Lt-General Dumisani Khumalo, myself, Major-General Feroz Khan, Nkabinde, and Mogotsi in order to get to the bottom of the problem. It is the prerogative of the Minister to invite the Executive Director of IPID if he feels it is necessary. I have requested to take vacation leave tomorrow and Friday, but I can make time if the Minister decides to meet this week. I hope my request will be favourable.”

Mchunu's response, Mkhwanazi said, was brief: “Your WhatsApp message was received. Will revert at some point.”

“He never did,” Mkhwanazi told the committee. “To date, I’m still waiting for the Minister to revert to me.”

hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za

IOL Politics 

Get your news on the go. Download the latest IOL App for Android and IOS now.