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The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu, taking decisive action to clean-out bad actors at the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) Crime Intelligence unit, but much more must be done to bring the unit back from the brink.

Mchunu’s recent dismissal of national crime intelligence head, Dumisani Khumalo, after he failed to disband the political killings task team, despite the Minister’s directive to do so, must only be the beginning in a unit-wide clean-up. Khumalo’s dismissal follows swiftly on the Minister’s commitment to cooperate with the Police portfolio committee to investigate the continued employment of family members of former Gauteng crime intelligence head, Richard Mdluli.

The DA has warned, more than once, that the internal politicking within Crime Intelligence – and the battle between the builders and breakers within SAPS – must be fought with robust internal investigations and swift consequence management.

Earlier this year, the DA requested that the Inspector-General for Intelligence (IGI) investigate the purchases of no less than two multi-million rand properties by Crime Intelligence – one of which appears to have been bought at R13 million above the listed price. Recent reports indicate that the IGI has been obstructed in its investigation, and that the police minister was not fully briefed on these purchases to begin with.

The rebuilding of Crime Intelligence is a critical moment for SAPS. Long plagued by a history of political meddling and interference, since the days of Richard Mdluli, and his campaign to discredit the now-defunct Scorpions, the senior ranks of SAPS crime intelligence have been riddled with allegations of impropriety and corruption. From questionable procurements, to allegations of obstruction of justice, internal smear campaigns, and multi-million rand thefts from supposedly secure offices, the Minister has a long road ahead in saving Crime Intelligence from itself.

The Minister must take all possible steps to get his house in order, and to this end, the DA will work with the Minister in the police portfolio committee to bring the breakers to book.

Issued by Dianne Kohler Barnard MP - DA Spokesperson on State Security