Phahlane rejects corruption narrative, tells MPs his removal by Mbalula was illegal

Former acting national police commissioner Khomotso Phahlane has denied that he was removed from office because of corruption, telling Parliament that his suspension by the then-Police Minister Fikile Mbalula was unlawful and baseless.

Testifying before Parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating police corruption in Cape Town on Wednesday, Phahlane said the widely held view that he was forced out over graft allegations was misleading and inaccurate.

Instead, he painted a picture of a rushed, informal and legally baseless decision taken by Mbalula at the height of damaging media coverage.

Phahlane told MPs he was summoned to Cape Town in 2017 after receiving a call from Mbalula’s office instructing him to travel to meet the minister.

He said no reasons were provided in advance. Upon arrival, he waited for more than three hours before being ushered into a meeting that lasted less than five minutes.

According to Phahlane, Mbalula did not raise specific charges or provide written instructions. Instead, the minister asked whether it would not be better for him to “step aside” given the “negativity in the media”.

“I agreed, because I’m not glued to any position,” Phahlane told the committee. “But I knew very well that only the President of the Republic has the authority to remove or suspend a national police commissioner.”

Phahlane said the instruction was illegal, as it was not authorised by the president, as required by the Constitution and the SAPS Act.

He said he was given no clarity on what “stepping aside” meant, no formal suspension letter and no guidance on handing over power.

“I asked two questions: who do I hand over to, and what does stepping aside mean?” he said. “The answer was simply: ‘Go home.’”

At the time, Phahlane was under investigation linked to a “blue lights” tender and allegations of procurement irregularities involving panoramic camera contracts.

Phahlane told MPs that never even procured the devices. 

He has consistently denied wrongdoing, and the manner of his dismissal has remained controversial.

Phahlane later challenged his removal at the Labour Appeal Court, arguing that it was procedurally unfair.

He told the committee that he was effectively used as a test case for what later became known as the ANC’s “step-aside” approach, long before it was formalised or clearly defined.

“I was a guinea pig,” he said. “My removal cannot be found anywhere in the prescriptions of the law.”

Phahlane’s testimony comes after KZN Police Commissioner, Lt-Gen. Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, alleged on July 6, 2025, that there was infiltration in the police force and also the judiciary.

The inquiry is still underway, expected to conclude proceedings around 9pm.

kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za

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