From Justice to Jeopardy: A Defining Moment for South Africa’s Democracy

On July 6, 2025, a truth too dangerous to ignore was laid bare. Not in a political rally or media exposé, but in a solemn and courageous briefing by Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, Provincial Commissioner of KwaZulu-Natal. He spoke as a police officer, but his words carried the weight of a patriot sounding the alarm. What he revealed should stir every South African to the core. The Political Killings Task Team one of the most effective anti-crime units we have had since 1994 was not only dismantled but deliberately sabotaged. The very state meant to protect our lives was used to shield those implicated in taking them.

Let’s be honest. We are no longer dealing with isolated incidents of corruption. This is systemic. This is embedded. And this is dangerous.

I write not only as a former Member of Parliament or a loyal ANC member. I write as someone raised in the trenches of the struggle, shaped by comrades who gave everything so that we could inherit a just society. I remember Dulcie September, Ashley Kriel, Chris Hani not just as a martyrs, but as a model of clear, principled, brave, disciplined, unbought. They and others did not die for us to inherit a state where the killers wear suits and walk freely while justice is delayed, distorted, or denied.

This is a defining moment for our democracy. And the question each of us must answer is simple: will we look away, or will we act?

The Task Team That Delivered Then Got Disbanded

The Political Killings Task Team was created because South Africa was seeing an alarming surge in political violence, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal. In 2018, President Ramaphosa visited the family of Musawenkosi Qashana Mchunu, an ANC activist gunned down in cold blood. That visit was not symbolic. It was a commitment. A promise that this bloodshed would not be ignored. What followed was a bold step the creation of a national, multidisciplinary team of seasoned investigators from SAPS, the NPA, State Security, and Correctional Services.

The team was not only effective. It was exceptional.

Over six years, they investigated 612 political dockets. They arrested 436 suspects. They recovered 156 illegal firearms. They secured 128 convictions. Among those arrested were 35 corrupt police officers. Sentences added up to more than 1,800 years in prison. Let that sink in.

This was professional, prosecution-led policing at its best. So what happened?

In March this year, 121 dockets were abruptly removed from the team’s care. A few months earlier, the Minister of Police had already issued the instruction to disband the team. In June, the team’s lead investigator was arrested. The files, filled with leads, evidence, and confessions, have been collecting dust at headquarters ever since. No movement. No justice. No answers.

A Criminal-Political Network in Plain Sight

Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi’s briefing outlines something worse than bureaucratic interference. It reveals a criminal-political network operating in plain sight. This isn’t fiction. This isn’t hearsay. There are screenshots. There are phone records. There are proof-of-payment documents. A known associate of the Minister of Police was caught communicating directly with a suspect awarded a R360 million SAPS contract, giving updates on internal police matters and reassuring him that the task team had been dissolved.

The same associate, Mr Brown Mogotsi, initially denied by the Minister in Parliament, was later confirmed to be an old political comrade during a private call. Incriminating messages show that he arranged meetings between this suspect and senior SAPS officials. There is even evidence of this suspect funding political events, including travel arrangements and gala dinners connected to party activities.

The implications are chilling.

Those responsible for investigating political murders were not only stopped from doing their work, but targeted, intimidated, and removed. Meanwhile, suspects continued to operate, contracts were issued, and powerful people looked the other way.

We must ask: how many more whistleblowers must fall? How many more dockets must go missing? How many more good officers must be sacrificed to protect the corrupt?

This Is About More Than One Task Team

Some will say this is a KwaZulu-Natal issue. Others may claim it is an ANC problem. But make no mistake: this is a South African crisis. Political violence is a national trauma. When police are prevented from doing their work, when criminals feel protected by the system, it is all of us who suffer. When justice is undermined at the top, it disappears at the bottom. If the law is not safe in the hands of our leaders, then none of us are safe in our homes.

What we are witnessing is a shadow state operating beneath the surface of our democracy. A state where money, political favours, and silence move faster than subpoenas and court cases. A state where truth is inconvenient, and loyalty is measured not by service to the people, but by silence in the face of wrongdoing.

This is not just about corruption. This is about capture. A capture of our criminal justice system by those it should be investigating.

Reclaiming Our Purpose: The Road to Renewal

So what do we do? How do we respond when those who are supposed to enforce the law are themselves being manipulated? The answer is simple: we take responsibility.

Here is what I believe we must do not tomorrow, but now.

1.⁠ ⁠Parliamentary Oversight Must Be Triggered Immediately. The Speaker must convene an urgent inquiry into the disbanding of the Political Killings Task Team. This inquiry must include testimony from all named parties, including the Minister, senior SAPS leadership, and members of the task team. We need sunlight. We need accountability.

2.⁠ ⁠Reinstate the Task Team with Presidential Protection. The team must be reinstated with constitutional protection and allowed to finish its work without fear or favour. Its jurisdiction should expand beyond KZN to include all political killings nationally.

3.⁠ ⁠Protect the Whistleblowers. Police officers, analysts, prosecutors, and even civil servants who come forward must be protected by law. No more scapegoats. No more sacrifices.

4.⁠ ⁠Mobilise Communities. Ward committees, community policing forums, churches, mosques, and youth formations must step up. We must hold local SAPS stations accountable. We must demand transparency. We must organise for justice.

5.⁠ ⁠Build a Justice Coalition. Civil society, the legal fraternity, the media, and ordinary citizens must form a united front. Let us create a national platform to monitor, document, and demand justice in all political killings. We cannot leave it to the state alone.

6.⁠ ⁠Confront the Culture of Impunity Within Our Own Ranks. I speak here as a member of the ANC. We must be honest with ourselves. If we want to lead society, we must first lead ourselves. We cannot claim to be the champions of justice if we remain silent when justice is betrayed. The ANC must be bold, not blind. Our renewal must begin with accountability.

The Power of Ordinary People

I know many will say, “But what can I do? I’m just one person.” I understand the despair. But I also know this: the most powerful force in this country is not the President. It is not Parliament. It is not the police. It is the people.

Every community that resists fear. Every family that demands answers. Every citizen who speaks the truth. They are the frontline of our democracy.

Let us organise local dialogues. Let us educate one another on our rights. Let us create community archives of cases. Let us write to our councillors. Let us vote not just with ballots, but with our voices, our vigilance, and our presence.

We Must Choose

There comes a time in every democracy where a line is drawn. One side leads to decay, complacency, and collusion. The other to integrity, clarity, and courage. We are at that line now.

Will we be the generation that let justice slip away in the name of loyalty?

Or will we be the generation that rose, confronted our own house, and cleaned it out because we loved this country too much to let it rot?

The choice is ours. And the time is now.

Let this be the moment we stop whispering in corridors and start speaking in halls. Let this be the moment where justice is no longer a headline, but a household demand. Let this be the moment when those who serve the people find the people standing beside them.

Justice is not just an ideal. It is a fight. And I, for one, am ready to fight for it.

Are you?

* Faiez Jacobs – Former Member of Parliament | Activist | Public Servant | Citizen of South Africa

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.