'Go get the popcorn factory ready', Gayton McKenzie ready to testify in inquiry over Mkhwanazi's corruption allegations

Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie said that he is willing to testify in the judicial commission of inquiry which will be established to investigate claims by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.

This comes after Ramaphosa on Sunday announced the inquiry saying that South Africans were concerned about corruption and the rise of criminality in the country.

"These allegations, if proven true, threaten to undermine the confidence of South Africans in the ability of the South African Police Service to protect them and to effectively fight crime and corruption," he said.

Reacting to the announcement of the inquiry, McKenzie said the testimony which will come out of the inquiry will shock South Africans.

"I'm also going to testify at the commission because I know things. If they call me, I'm going. There are these guns in the Western Cape that is killing our people," he said

"This is one is not get your popcorn ready, go get the popcorn factory ready because of the corruption that is going to come out of there. Every cartel boss of every gang in the world you always hear that they are arrested in South Africa, they are here," McKenzie added.

In explosive allegations, Mkhwanazi accused Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya, the deputy national commissioner for crime detection, of colluding with Brown Mogotsi, an information dealer from the North West, and Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, in an alleged plot to disband the KwaZulu-Natal political killings task team that has been at the centre of recent law enforcement efforts.

Mkhwanazi accused Mchunu of disbanding the task team in March, effectively withdrawing 121 active dockets, many of which were linked to politically motivated killings. 

He presented WhatsApp messages, South African Police Service (SAPS) documents, and cellphone records, alleging a coordinated effort to dismantle the unit.

Mchunu, in a December 2024 letter to National Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Fannie Masemola, claimed the unit had “outlived its usefulness.”

In a decisive step, Ramaphosa not only announced the establishment of a Judicial Commission of Inquiry, but he also placed Mchunu on special leave.

Moreover, Mchunu appeared before the ANC’s Integrity Commission this week — one of three senior members currently under review by the party’s accountability structures.

While the findings have not been made public, the move represented a significant escalation in the ANC’s internal cleanup efforts.

On Tuesday, Masemola announced that Sibiya has been requested to take a leave of absence until investigations have been completed.

sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za

IOL News

Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel