Why Didn't Ramaphosa Act? Phosa Questions President on Mchunu's Task Team Move

Johannesburg – ANC stalwart Mathews Phosa has issued a strong challenge to President Cyril Ramaphosa, demanding he disclose why he failed to intervene when his ally, then police minister Senzo Mchunu, suspended the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) and halted its investigations.

Phosa's remarks come amidst growing concerns about the alleged collusion between senior politicians and criminals, and the apparent lack of accountability within the government. He argues that Ramaphosa, as president, must take responsibility for the actions of his ministers and ensure that those involved in corruption and political violence are brought to justice.

"Where was the president looking when this happened? The buck stops with him," Phosa stated in an interview with The Citizen, days after the publication of his biography, "Witness To Power: A Political Memoir."

Phosa, a former ANC treasurer-general, claimed that there is a widespread corrupt relationship between politicians and thugs, including killers and thieves who loot state resources. He expressed concern that this collusion continues unchecked while the president remains silent on the matter.

He said that while he would like to avoid pre-empting the outcome of the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, it was clear that senior politicians collaborate with criminals, and it continues unchecked while the president keeps quiet about it.

Phosa highlighted the case of the PKTT, which was investigating political killings in KwaZulu-Natal, as a prime example of how politicians collude with criminals to commit crimes or obstruct the prosecution of wrongdoers. He accused Mchunu of protecting the murderers behind these killings, which he described as collusion with criminals.

"He can't say I didn't know, where was he looking, he should know? South Africa is avoiding that question – where was the president looking?" Phosa questioned. "The buck stops with the president, not with his minions, we must hold the government properly accountable."

Mchunu himself confirmed that he had ordered the dissolution of the PKTT and halted the probe into political killings in KwaZulu-Natal, following revelations made by KwaZulu-Natal police provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.

Phosa lamented the fact that "Comrades are collaborating with thieves and thugs. Politicians cannot make common cause with thieves and thugs. We must object when they do that because they are stealing from the people. Thieves are putting money in the pockets of politicians."

He drew a parallel between the PKTT case and the broader issue of state capture, highlighting the dramatic expression of corruption during the Gupta brothers' reign, which involved the daylight looting of state resources and the siphoning of millions out of the country.

"The smell of corruption is the same – whether in one case money in billions leaves the country or, in another case, Tembisa Hospital is looted while corpses of innocent people, the whistle-blowers who stood for what is right, pile up," Phosa said. "The price they pay is death, that's why I say you will only silence me with the last bullet – death. Silence in the face of evil is collusion with evil; we learnt that very early in our political lives. The state is conniving with thieves by not prosecuting them."

Phosa expressed concern that power and money have corrupted and corroded the soul of the ANC, which in turn has corrupted the entire society. "That's what power did to the ANC," he said.

However, he also emphasised that there are still individuals within the ANC who remain committed to ethical governance. "However, there are those of us who have run the government – I led Mpumalanga province [as premier] – and I don't remember stealing one cent," he said.

Phosa recalled his time as premier of Mpumalanga, during which he appointed Lot Ndlovu, the first Black Management Forum president, as chair of the provincial tender board, trusting him to ensure ethical conduct. He contrasted this with the current situation, where tender boards and state supply chain management committees have become havens for thieves within the government.

"They steal from there. They would know what is coming up for tenders and then pick it up for themselves, their relatives and friends. That's where the rot begins," Phosa said.

He stressed that the task of politicians is to deliver services to the people, not to issue tenders, and that politicians and councillors must allow administrators to do their jobs without interference. "They don't only corrupt themselves as politicians, they corrupt society; they lose the ethics of good governance," Phosa said.

Asked if he regards himself as the conscience of the ANC, Phosa replied: "I am not the conscience of the ANC, but I am one of those people in the ANC who reject these things. I reject them in words, I reject them in action. I speak out against them, I speak loudly against them and I will continue. The only thing that will stop me telling the truth and speaking against what is wrong is death."

Phosa is not alone in his criticism of the ANC. He is joined by fellow comrades such as Mavuso Msimang and Thabo Mbeki, who have also consistently spoken out against indiscipline and corruption within the party. These stalwarts, despite facing criticism from some ANC leaders, have remained steadfast in their opposition to wrongdoing.