Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader Velenkosini Hlabisa has defended President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to appoint Professor Firoz Cachalia as the incoming Minister of Police, despite mounting criticism from other parties such as EFF, MK Party and DA, saying that he’s the right man for the job.
Hlabisa defended Cachalia’s appointment and argued that President Cyril Ramaphosa acted appropriately by naming an acting minister following the decision to place Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on special leave following the growing scandal.
“The IFP made a proposal through a press statement that Minister Mchunu must be placed on leave, which the president announced,” Hlabisa said during a media briefing following the IFP’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting Monday.
“There could have been no way to leave a vacancy,” he added.
Ramaphosa recently appointed Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe as acting minister from July 1 through the end of the month.
Mantashe will retain his current portfolio while temporarily overseeing the police ministry.
From August 1, Cachalia is expected to formally assume leadership of the police ministry following his retirement from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Several opposition parties, including the Democratic Alliance (DA), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), and the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, have slammed the decision as “unconstitutional.”
News previously reported that Former President Jacob Zuma and the MK Party have filed an urgent application with the Constitutional Court seeking to overturn Ramaphosa’s actions, including Cachalia’s appointment, Mchunu’s special leave, and the formation of a judicial commission of inquiry.
In their court filing, Zuma and the MK Party argue the decisions are “irrational, unconstitutional, and a blatant abuse of power” that undermines public trust in police leadership.
They are asking the court to set aside the president’s decisions and compel him to make new appointments within 15 days.
The case is expected to be heard by July 28.
Meanwhile, the EFF said Ramaphosa violated Section 98 of the Constitution, which stipulates that the president may only assign ministerial duties to another Cabinet minister, not an external appointee.
“The president’s decision is therefore not just unlawful, but a deliberate abuse of the supreme law of the land,” the party said in a statement.
The DA criticised the delay in placing Mchunu on leave, describing the allegations he faces as deeply concerning.
“These allegations strike at the heart of South Africa’s criminal justice system, implicating senior law enforcement, prosecutorial, intelligence, and even executive officials in organized crime and systemic corruption,” the party said.
This follows explosive claims by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who accused Deputy National Commissioner for Crime Detection Shadrack Sibiya, and Brown Mogotsi, an alleged information dealer of orchestrating the disbanding of the province’s political killings task team.Mkhwanazi provided WhatsApp messages, SAPS documents, and cellphone records alleging a coordinated effort to dismantle the task team, which was investigating over 120 politically motivated killings.
Mchunu, in a December 2024 letter to National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola, claimed the unit had “outlived its usefulness.”
In response to public outrage and calls for transparency, Ramaphosa placed Mchunu on special leave and established a judicial commission of inquiry.
Meanwhile, Hlabisa confirmed that the IFP was consulted before the announcement of Cachalia’s appointment and believes it was both legal and necessary.
“We were engaged by the president. I also took the initiative to pen down the IFP’s view,” he said.
“We are responsible. When it is time to make a substantive contribution to the leader of the country, we do so.”
He added, “One day in politics is too long. Today is July 21. By July 31, we don’t know what the situation will be in the country,” Hlabisa said.
Hlabisa said that Cachalia’s appointment aligns with the IFP’s call for a temporary leave for Mchunu during the investigation, adding that Cachalia has the “knowledge, scope, skills, and understanding” needed to lead the ministry effectively.
Politics
