Tensions within South Africa’s police ranks have reached boiling point after Cedric Nkabinde, chief of staff to suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu, accused police officers allegedly acting on orders from National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola of assaulting his brother and intimidating him ahead of his parliamentary testimony.
Speaking to the press in Sandton on Thursday, Nkabinde claimed that a group of heavily armed officers wearing balaclavas and camouflage uniforms stormed his family home, attacking his brother when they failed to find him.
“They hit him with a gun butt after he asked for a search warrant,” Nkabinde said. “They said they couldn’t drive all the way from KwaZulu-Natal for nothing and that they had been sent by national police commissioner General Fannie Masemola.”
According to Nkabinde, the incident occurred just days before he is due to appear before Parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating alleged interference in police operations — a process that has already seen testimony from both Masemola and KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
“The timing is highly suspicious,” Nkabinde said. “Our gadgets, the very ones they wanted, contain evidence we plan to submit to the commission. It’s clear this was not a coincidence.”
Raid linked to parliamentary inquiry
Nkabinde said the same officers later entered Minister Mchunu’s office, insisting on conducting a further search and demanding to confiscate his electronic devices.
“I called my lawyers immediately because I feared for my life. When my lawyers contacted the committee, the national commissioner confirmed that he was aware of the operation and said they wanted my phone,” he claimed.
He questioned why police had suddenly intensified operations against him.
“What was so urgent about Mkhwanazi’s briefing months ago in July when they did not have evidence?” Nkabinde asked.
The chief of staff alleged that the raids were part of a broader campaign to intimidate witnesses and obstruct evidence from being presented to Parliament.
Claims of harassment and vendetta
A former investigator with the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), Nkabinde said he believed that both Mkhwanazi and Masemola were behind a campaign to discredit him.
“Mkhwanazi has a personal vendetta against me,” he said. “When I left Ipid in 2017, I joined the private sector and later became chief of staff after Minister Mchunu’s appointment. I have the qualifications and experience required for the role. But ever since then, the harassment has not stopped.”
Nkabinde said that, as a former Ipid official, he was well aware of how certain police operations could be manipulated to target individuals.
“I know how these things work. Officers plant guns or drugs to justify shootings. I’ve seen it before. That’s why I’m speaking publicly; if something happens to me, South Africans must know who is behind it.”
Brother assaulted, cases to be opened
Nkabinde confirmed that he would be opening criminal cases of assault and kidnapping following the attack on his brother.
He added that despite the intimidation and raids, he remained committed to his duties and to appearing before the parliamentary committee.
“The minister has done nothing wrong, and we will prove that before the public,” he said. “But it’s clear the police are not looking for the truth; they’re trying to confiscate evidence.”
Nkabinde stressed that he and Mchunu had nothing to hide, saying they were prepared to give their full version of events once the inquiry resumed.
“I no longer trust the national commissioner”
Despite the turmoil, Nkabinde said he continued to serve as chief of staff to the suspended minister, though his work had been disrupted by what he described as ongoing intimidation.
“After Minister Firoz Cachalia took over, we agreed I should focus on the commission. But this intimidation is making that impossible,” he said.
He called on the national commissioner to communicate through his legal representatives to ensure his safety.
“I am appealing to the national commissioner to speak directly with my lawyers, because I no longer trust him,” Nkabinde said.
He concluded with a chilling warning to the public:
“If anything happens to me, South Africa must know it will be on commissioner Masemola’s hands.”
The accusations come at a time of growing friction within the upper echelons of the South African Police Service (SAPS). Recent weeks have seen a series of raids, suspensions, and counterclaims between senior officials, further exposing divisions in the country’s security leadership.
The parliamentary inquiry, which has already heard explosive testimony from senior police officers, is investigating allegations of interference in politically sensitive cases, including the disbanding of the task team probing political killings in KwaZulu-Natal.
Neither the South African Police Service nor the office of the national commissioner had responded to requests for comment by the time of publication.
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