Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi told Parliament his long-expired security clearance is being deliberately withheld, as he accused the police vetting office of corruption and interference.
Image: Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Newspapers
Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, the police commissioner for KwaZulu-Natal, said that if he had the power, he would fire everyone in the vetting unit, starting with Major-General Feroz Khan, the head of the unit. He also said that the office is "dirty."
Mkhwanazi said these things during what was supposed to be his last appearance before Parliament's ad hoc committee, where he has been answering questions about claims made against him and the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT).
His testimony comes after a fiery press conference on July 6, 2025, which led to a parliamentary investigation into claims of corruption, political interference, and institutional capture in the South African Police Service (SAPS).
During that briefing, Mkhwanazi implicated several senior officials, including Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, who is currently on special leave, and suspended deputy national commissioner for crime detection, Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya.
Mkhwanazi told the committee he still does not have security clearance.
This comes after controversial private investigator Paul O’Sullivan told the committee that the top cop does not have the security clearance.
“The answer is no, I still do not have one,” he said.
Evidence leader Advocate Bongiwe Mkhize asked when he last had clearance and what its current status was.
Mkhwanazi said his last top-secret clearance expired in 2018.
He had applied for renewal in 2013 through the State Security Agency (SSA).
“In the vetting process, you have to disclose everything - where you were born, where you grew up, your schooling, friends, family, bank accounts, assets and more,” he said.
He claimed the SSA completed its process, including a polygraph test, but did not issue clearance due to allegations raised by an Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) official in KwaZulu-Natal.
“I was told there was a case involving a so-called hit squad in 2013 in KwaZulu-Natal, in which I was implicated. At the time, I was working in Pretoria and had never worked in KwaZulu-Natal,” he said.
Mkhwanazi said he received no feedback on the matter.
A subsequent application to Crime Intelligence also remained unresolved as of 2022.
He alleged that further delays were caused by unverified claims, including media reports and cases he said he was never informed about.
“One allegation relates to a case investigated by IDAC. Another involves a case opened in Pretoria, where I was accused of interfering in an investigation involving (former acting national commissioner Khomotso) Phahlane and his wife,” he said.
He added that he was also named as a suspect in a hijacking case in Brooklyn, Pretoria, despite not being present there.
“These allegations are used to justify not finalising my clearance. From what I know, I have no case. My name was simply included,” he said.
Mkhwanazi accused the vetting section, under Khan, of deliberately obstructing the process.
“If I were in charge, I would remove everyone in that section, starting with Khan,” he said.
He further alleged that sensitive files had been compromised, referencing the investigation into Phahlane’s property, which he claimed originated from stolen documents.
“It is a dirty office,” he said.
“Parliament must ask how honest the vetting process is across the police and other institutions.”
Mkhize said that the issues appeared to date back to 2022 and asked whether anything could be done to resolve them.
Mkhwanazi responded that the delays were unjustified and suggested oversight bodies, including IPID, should account for their role.
Mkhize also asked whether he could access secret funds without security clearance, citing O’Sullivan’s statement.
Mkhwanazi dismissed the claim, saying he has no role in Crime Intelligence operations.
“I do not work in Crime Intelligence. I have zero involvement with the secret fund,” he said.
He added that even during his acting tenure from 2011 to 2012, he had minimal interaction with the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence.
“It was never my role. The head of intelligence is responsible for that function,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mkhwanazi explained why he retracted serious allegations he made against former police minister Bheki Cele.
Mkhwanazi previously testified before the Ad Hoc Committee that Cele allegedly sent attempted murder-accused tenderpreneur Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala a bank account, and money was deposited into that account.
He had indicated at the time that they were going to look into the flow of the deposited funds.
However, when Cele appeared before the committee four months ago, Mkhwanazi sent evidence leader, Advocate Norman Arendse, a message withdrawing the allegation.
He had stated that the team working on the data analysis got the bank account wrong, and the reference regarding Cele was incorrect.
This had prompted the Ad Hoc Committee to demand an affidavit because it had felt that the allegation could not be withdrawn merely by sending a message.
On his return to give evidence before the committee on Wednesday, Mkhwanazi said he had shared with the committee information from the data analysis performed by colleagues on Matlala’s two cellphones.
He explained that the data analysts had found a contact saved as “Bab Ndosi”, which is a clan name of Cele, and the number differed from the former minister’s number by one digit.
“At a glance, the two numbers are almost similar, with a difference of one digit right in the middle. In analysing and tracing the communication, the system drew a different number because of the confusion.”
He also said the data analyst had submitted affidavits to the Ad Hoc Committee and the IPID, which is investigating a perjury charge opened by National Coloured Congress leader and MP Fadiel Adams, explaining how the error between the numbers occurred.
Mkhwanazi said they believed Matlala made the same mistake when he sent messages to the phone number owner from Mpumalanga.
“The owner of the phone number has given a statement where he explains that he received a few WhatsApp messages with bank record statements he did not understand. He responded to get a conversation about who sent the messages,” he said, adding that there was a subsequent exchange of a bank account, and money was deposited.
He also said the unemployed man was appreciative and gave some money to his girlfriend only to want more.
“It is then that Vusi realised he talks to a wrong person and asked, ‘Who are you?’ After the person explained, Matlala immediately deleted all the messages he had sent,” said Mkhwanazi.
He said the owner of the phone number, whom Matlala addressed as “Bab Ndosi”, was not related to Cele and went by a different surname.
Mkhwanazi said it was not their intention to mislead the committee.
“It was an error made by the analysis team during the data extraction process.
“There was no ill intention, and that is why we withdrew upfront,” said Mkhwanazi.
The committee continues.
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