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Mchunu case Ended

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What you need to know

Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia says he picked KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi to lead the Hawks because he wants someone to fight crime cartels. Cabinet and Parliament must still confirm the appointment, and on 29 October Cachalia submitted a Cabinet memorandum seeking Cabinet's agreement.

Earlier, on 28 October, Police Committee chairperson Ian Cameron asked President Cyril Ramaphosa to fire Senzo Mchunu over costs. Cameron says Mchunu's legal costs and pay have cost the State almost R6 million since July 2025, while an acting minister does the job.

Before that, on 27 October, Cachalia said in a written parliamentary reply that the State funds the legal representation of Mchunu, who is on special leave.

Saturday

  1. Cachalia wants Mkhwanazi to lead the Hawks

Earlier

  1. Cachalia asks Cabinet to approve Mkhwanazi as Hawks head
  2. Police Committee chair asks Ramaphosa to fire Mchunu over costs
  3. State has paid R2.7 million for Mchunu's legal costs

All articles

PoliticsCrime

Cachalia wants Mkhwanazi to lead the Hawks

Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia says he picked KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi because he wants someone to fight crime cartels. Cabinet and Parliament must still confirm the appointment to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation.

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Cachalia said the job had to be advertised twice because there was no suitable candidate. He said he wanted someone dynamic and strategic, who the public appreciates.

The minister said he wanted a person able to take the fight to the cartels. He said he believes his decision was the right one.

PoliticsCrime

Cachalia asks Cabinet to approve Mkhwanazi as Hawks head

Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has submitted a Cabinet memorandum seeking concurrence for KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi to lead the Hawks. The appointment is not final until Cabinet agrees.

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The Police Ministry said in a statement that the memorandum will go to a Cabinet sitting at the earliest opportunity. Ministry spokesperson Kamogelo Mogotsi repeated this. Once Cabinet agrees, the appointment must be reported to parliament.

The post of national head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks, has had no permanent holder since General Godfrey Lebeya retired in May last year. Lieutenant General Siphesihle Nkosi is now the acting national head.

The Police Ministry said: "The appointment of a National Head is important in ensuring strong leadership, strategic direction and operational effectiveness in addressing these crimes".

Politics

Police Committee chair asks Ramaphosa to fire Mchunu over costs

Ian Cameron, chairperson of the Police Committee, says Senzo Mchunu's legal costs and pay have cost the State almost R6 million since July 2025. He says keeping Mchunu while an acting minister does the job is costly.

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Cameron said Ramaphosa has the constitutional power to remove a minister. He said Mchunu could have been relieved of his executive duties while he kept his seat in Parliament. Mchunu went on special leave in July 2025, and Firoz Cachalia now acts as Police Minister.

Cachalia told Parliament that the Justice Department has paid R2.7 million for Mchunu's legal costs. Cameron put Mchunu's pay and legal representation to date at approximately R5.86 million.

Cameron also said removing Mchunu from Cabinet would not amount to a criminal conviction. He said Mchunu's pay as a member of Parliament would continue. He said: "This is absolutely reckless and negligent taxpayer spending."

Politics

State has paid R2.7 million for Mchunu's legal costs

Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia said in a written parliamentary reply that the State funds the legal representation of Senzo Mchunu, who is on special leave. Police Committee chairperson Ian Cameron wants President Cyril Ramaphosa to end the arrangement.

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Cachalia replied to a question from the Democratic Alliance (DA). He said the State provides the legal representation under the State Legal Representation Policy. The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development paid the R2.7 million.

Cachalia said: "Accordingly, legal representation is being provided to Mr Mchunu in accordance with the applicable provisions of the policy".

Cameron said the State also pays Mchunu's salary of R3 million while he sits at home on special leave. He called this a costly arrangement that should end. He said any right to legal representation for past official conduct must be assessed separately, and does not require keeping Mchunu in Cabinet.

Elections Hot

What you need to know

Voting in the 2026 Local Government Elections is under way at 23,696 stations, and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) reported a smooth start on 4 November. Stations opened at 7am and close at 9pm, and by 10am preliminary figures showed 3,523,691 voters had cast ballots.

There were problems: unused ballot papers were stolen from Mnyameni Secondary School near Durban, police opened a case, and the IEC relieved the station staff of duty. Some voters in Tshwane said they were turned away for wearing party shirts, but the IEC denied this and said only mayoral candidates' entourages were barred.

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe told members not to query the results or discredit the IEC, while the IEC said false online claims show routine procedures as fraud.

  1. IEC dismisses MK Party worry about dead people on voters' roll
  2. IEC says local election voting went largely smoothly
  3. IEC says about 12 million had voted by 5pm

See every update

US mid-terms Heating up

What you need to know

Democrats won back both the US House and Senate in the midterm elections held on 3 November, according to media projections. Exit polls showed voters were angry about high prices and the direction of the country, and rebuked President Donald Trump.

Before the vote, US forces struck targets on Qeshm Island in Iran, while Republicans struggled to defend the war against Iran on the campaign trail. Iranian officials said US voters rejected the war, and Tehran stayed on high alert for possible new US strikes.

Markets reacted, with the dollar hitting a one-month low and the rand firming to around R16.55, as analysts pointed to fears of gridlock in Washington.

  1. Iran welcomes Democratic wins in US midterm elections
  2. Democrats win US Congress in midterm vote, projections show
  3. Ramaphosa wants US trade deal after AGOA suspension

See every update

AI Cooling

What you need to know

Nvidia has told its cloud computing clients to sell at least 51% of their services to non-Chinese companies, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. Anthropic said it has committed to spend close to $900bn on AI infrastructure, and that its computing costs are rising faster than its revenues.

Elsewhere, reports from unnamed sources say OpenAI's latest funding round is falling short of expectations, and a judge let the NAACP pollution case against xAI proceed. In South Africa, the VAST AI investment scheme went offline on 30 October after withdrawals marked approved did not arrive, according to a news investigation.

  1. Accenture faces accusations over AI report with false citations
  2. CrowdStrike to buy two AI security startups
  3. Google lets schools turn off AI tools but limits Search

See every update