Mchunu’s ANC Fate Could Be Sealed By Wednesday

By CHRIS MAKHAYE

Suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu faces a decisive week as the ANC’s Integrity Committee, chaired by veteran George Mashamba, prepares to deliberate on his future.

Last month, Mchunu wrote to ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula requesting permission to resume his position as an ANC NEC member and to attend its meetings. Mbalula, in turn, contacted the Integrity Committee, which informed him that they were still dealing with the matter. Mchunu had already appeared before the committee and made representations. The committee will again deliberate on Mchunu’s case on Wednesday, and a decision could be taken during that meeting.

Mchunu has been on paid suspension since July last year, after being implicated by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi for allegedly working with criminal cartels to shut down the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT). In his letter disbanding the PKTT, Mchunu argued that the unit was “no longer adding any value to police work” and later ordered all its dockets to be sent to General Shadrack Sibiya at SAPS headquarters in Pretoria.

His testimony at both the Ad Hoc Committee and the Madlanga Commission has been marked by denials, but the allegations remain damning: political interference, collusion with criminal networks, and the unilateral disbanding of the PKTT without consulting the President. Insiders also claim Mchunu classified the IPID report into the Phala Phala saga, and may hold damaging information on President Cyril Ramaphosa — a factor they believe explains why he was not dismissed outright but instead left on suspension.

Despite the cloud hanging over him, Mchunu’s supporters have repeatedly tried to revive his political career. Several prayer meetings — though poorly attended — have been held for him in KwaZulu-Natal. His spokesperson, Sithembiso Mshengu, told the media that Mchunu has been made a scapegoat, adding that the recent arrests of top police officials, including the indictment of General Fanie Masemola, are “just the tip of the iceberg.”

ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu told The Quest:

“Until the Integrity Committee has deliberated and decided on the matter, Mchunu cannot come back and be part of the NEC.”

Ashwin Desai, an independent political analyst, sociologist and director of the Centre for Social Change at the University of Johannesburg, believes Mchunu’s comeback chances are slim:

“It is interesting that the ANC Integrity Committee is dealing with this matter. It is also interesting that Mchunu was keen on coming back to ANC NEC meetings. One would have thought that Mchunu would sit at home and take the salary while the integrity committees are dealing with his matters. I think Mchunu’s chances of making a political comeback are not very good, especially after so many people who were close to him, including the President, have thrown him under the bus at both the Ad Hoc Committee and the Madlanga Commission. But in South Africa things can change. Mchunu’s presidential ambition is all but dead, even if one or both commissions find no sufficient evidence against him. The ANC is fighting a rearguard battle to present itself before the electorate ahead of the local government elections, and it wouldn’t want to deal with the damage caused by its association with Mchunu and his issues.”

Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told The Quest on Thursday: “The President has communicated numerous times about the status of Minister Mchunu, including his oral responses to Parliament recently. The President’s stance is as communicated in his response to the Ad Hoc Committee.”

Mashamba could not be reached at the time of going to press.

Meanwhile, Mchunu’s spokesperson, Sthembiso Mshengu, said he could not respond to what the ANC says on this matter. “But we will wait for the outcome of that committee’s decision and we will take it from there,” he said.