Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za
3-minute read | 17 November 2025 | 19:45 CAT

📸 Acting Police Minister Firoz Kachalia appears before Parliament’s ad hoc committee as sweeping SAPS corruption revelations intensify, calling for a full “reset” of the police service.

Urgent concern has emerged following Acting Police Minister Firoz Kachalia’s stark remarks on the state of policing in South Africa. His comments come as damning revelations from the Madalanga Commission and Parliament’s ad hoc committee expose the troubling “illegal relationship between senior officials and drug lords and criminals,” a development that many fears have pushed SAPS to a breaking point.

Speaking before the committee, Kachalia admitted he hoped the inquiry process would “help the country understand what is happening and what the way forward is to reset SAPS.” These words echo the gravity of the unfolding scandal, described by criminologist Dr. Simon Howell as revealing “significant levels of rot to a depth that’s been shown” in SAPS leadership.

Questions have surfaced regarding whether Kachalia fully understood the extent of the corruption before taking the role. Dr. Howell suggests he may have had “an inkling,” but not the depth now being exposed. His appointment seen by some as being “thrown to the wolves” has placed him in an awkward yet pivotal position, especially with former Police Minister Senzo Mchunu placed on leave.

However, Dr. Howell is clear about limitations:
“He is acting and as a result he doesn’t really have that authority” to axe top officers implicated in criminal networks. Instead, Kachalia must “steer SAPS in a manner that allows the organisation to hold together” until investigations are finalised.

Political uncertainty also looms large. Asked whether President Cyril Ramaphosa might reinstate Mchunu despite the damaging evidence, Dr. Howell notes this decision “is more a function of politics than policing,” though Mchunu’s credibility is already severely undermined.

Beyond the commissions and political manoeuvring, the central question remains: how can trust between SAPS and the public be restored? Dr. Howell warns that public confidence is “very likely at an all-time low,” noting that corruption is only one of several reasons for the decline.

Rebuilding trust, he insists, must begin “right at the bottom with police officers on the beat, on the street, with community members.” Kachalia’s role is therefore to “facilitate” this renewal, ensuring systems and leadership structures support genuine community engagement.

As South Africans watch closely, one thing is clear: restructuring SAPS is no longer optional it is critical to restoring credibility, safety, and public trust in one of the country’s most vital institutions.

Listen to the full interview on The Daily Round-Up with Moulana Junaid Kharsany and Dr Simon Howell.