President Cyril Ramaphosa to place Minister Senzo Mchunu on Special Leave

MAKEKASIGREAT©®™ @KASIBC_AFRICA

ONLINE EDITOR @KASIBC_AFRICA

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is appalled by the decision of President Cyril Ramaphosa to place Minister Senzo Mchunu on “special leave” instead of removing him entirely from his position. 

This so-called “special leave” is a cowardly deflection, designed to shield a corrupt Minister whose involvement in organised crime has been laid bare by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. 

We additionally reject the legally and constitutionally baseless decision by the President to appoint an acting Minister of Police who is not a current member of Cabinet. This is a direct violation of Section 98 of the Constitution, which states: “The President may assign to a Minister any power or function of another Minister who is absent or otherwise unable to fulfil the functions of office.” 

It is clear from this provision that only a sitting Minister may be assigned the functions of another. The Constitution makes no room for the appointment of an Acting Minister from outside Cabinet.  Additionally, President Ramaphosa relies on Section 91(3)(c) of the Constitution to justify his election of an acting Minister, which states: “The President may select no more than two Ministers from outside the Assembly.”

Evidently, this section does not speak at all to the appointment of an “acting” Minister nor does it make provisions for the appointment of an “acting” Minister outside of the National Assembly. The President’s decision is therefore not just unlawful, but a deliberate abuse of the supreme law of the land. 

This decision is not only illegal, it is also a flagrant abuse of state resources. It allows Senzo Mchunu to continue drawing a full ministerial salary under the guise of “special leave”, while the President unlawfully bloats the Cabinet by appointing someone not lawfully entitled to serve in that role. 

The South African people are being forced to fund the lavish lifestyle of a criminal, while he consolidates power and undermines whistleblowers from behind the scenes. Mchunu is no longer just a political figure—he is the face of an entrenched criminal syndicate operating within the state. He is directly implicated in ordering the disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team, a highly effective investigative unit that had handled over 600 politically motivated cases, secured over 100 convictions, dozens of life sentences, and over 1,800 years in combined prison terms.

Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi revealed that the disbandment—done without authorisation from either the National or Provincial Commissioners—was executed by SAPS Crime Detection Deputy Commissioner Lieutenant General Sibiya on direct instruction from Minister Mchunu. 

These actions resulted in the withdrawal of over 120 case dockets, most of them relating to political assassinations, traditional leader killings, and organised criminal activity in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. 

Moreover, Minister Mchunu is implicated in colluding with an accused criminal and SAPS tender beneficiary, Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, who allegedly funded his political activities and events hosted by the ANC. His interference in procurement processes and the attempted suspension of Commissioner Mkhwanazi to obstruct investigations further demonstrate that Mchunu is not a custodian of law, but a protector of lawlessness. 

The gravity of the allegations made by Lt Gen Mkhwanazi are therefore beyond dispute. Minister Mchunu is not a mere bystander—he is a central player in a criminal enterprise that has captured key institutions of the state. As a result, mere “special leave” is an insufficient intervention, and a clear attempt to cover up President Ramaphosa’s own lack of political will to confront a mafia network that benefits him and his party. We remind the nation that this is not the first time the EFF has warned of the ANC’s deep involvement in criminal syndicates embedded within the state. 

These revelations confirm what we have long argued: the ANC is no longer a governing party. It is a mafia organisation, where political office is weaponised to shield gangsters, redirect tenders, and silence accountability. There is no genuine renewal within the ANC. There is no accountability. 

There is only deceit, deflection, and the preservation of criminal interests. To allow Mchunu the courtesy of “special leave” is to spit in the face of all South Africans demanding justice and clean governance.

Minister Mchunu must be removed, arrested, prosecuted, and compelled to reveal the full network of this criminal syndicate—from political handlers to rogue elements in the SAPS and the Judiciary. Nothing less will suffice. 

The EFF further reiterates its call for the urgent establishment of an Ad-Hoc Committee of the National Assembly to investigate the damning revelations made by Lt Gen Mkhwanazi. No one—regardless of political affiliation—must be above the law. 

MAKEKASIGREAT©®™ @KASIBC_AFRICA