Political interference into the functioning of the SA Police Services and National Prosecutorial Authority has been under close scrutiny since KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi first made serious allegations about it.
His claims of overt political interference in police operational matters have been described as ‘explosive’, but in reality, the only surprising thing about it is that they were made by a sitting provincial police commissioner. Most police commissioners, whose appointment are made at the pleasure of the president, have never questioned where their “loyalties” lie. And the constitution and the public are at the back of the queue.
Mkhwanazi doesn’t pretend any of it is new or that it is limited to suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu. He says it goes back at least a decade and a half and included overt interference from two of his predecessors, Nathi Mthethwa and Bheki Cele.
The SAPS’ constitutional mandate is to investigate, prevent and combat crime without fear, favour, or prejudice.
It [the ANC] ignores the fact that it is now a governing political party in a democracy and not a freedom organisation
Political interference would obviously violate its ability to do this as well as flout the rule of law and the sacred principle of accountability.
The irony of a string of police ministers flouting the rule of law and police commissioners giving their tacit blessing to it — seems to have completely escaped most within the ANC.
The reason is simple: The ANC has never made a secret of its intention to bring under its control all “levers of power” to advance what it continues to term the “National Democratic Revolution”. It ignores that it is now a governing political party in a democracy and not a freedom organisation. It is not only an outdated concept but one that runs directly contrary to the constitution which puts an obligation on government to ensure the independence and/or political impartiality of certain bodies, institutions and public services.
The independence of the NPA and the impartiality of the SAPS is vital to their functioning for obvious reasons. Without it, those in political power can act unlawfully with impunity.
Control of these levers of power has not advanced democracy one jot but has rather allowed for wholesale corruption, theft, and defrauding of the fiscus. State capture — not just by a political party but by criminal syndicates — was the inevitable result.
Many think that state capture is in the rear-view mirror. Mkhwanazi has made it clear that the opposite applies.
It is overt and ongoing and led by the actions of members of the executive. As long as the ANC continues to try to control all the levers of power it puts at risk the separation of powers, the rule of law, the values of our constitution and the very substance of our democracy.
Daily Dispatch
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.