ActionSA has written to the Speaker of Parliament to request an urgent debate on the deepening crisis within the South African Police Service and our broader criminal justice system, following explosive allegations by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.

The Commissioner’s unprecedented claims, pointing to widespread criminal infiltration and corruption at the highest levels of the SAPS, including the Minister of Police, raise grave concerns about the integrity and functionality of the country’s law enforcement leadership, and more critically, the troubling national security threat this poses.

Recognising the unprecedented nature of a Police Commissioner publicly speaking out about national colleagues and the Minister of Police no less, including allegations of the deliberate sabotage of efforts to combat political killings and the direct involvement of senior police leadership in organised crime, represents one of the most alarming indictments of the state's security apparatus in democratic South Africa. In light of the current leadership vacuum in crime intelligence, ActionSA has issued numerous warnings that South Africa's criminal justice system has been hollowed out by those tasked with eradicating crime. Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s remarks are a clear indication that the situation has reached breaking point.

As a result, Parliament must act immediately because neither the President nor the Minister of Police can be held solely responsible for the crisis's escalation and deepening. ActionSA backs any and all legal efforts to curb our nation's rampant crime and eradicate corruption. We are determined to use every legislative tool at our disposal to defend those who are determined and dedicated to combating the scourge of crime and corruption and expose those who undermine these efforts.