Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za
3-minute read
08 July 2025 | 10:58 CAT

Rot at the Top: Calls Grow for SAPS Cleanup.” Paul O’Sullivan slams police leadership, demands judicial inquiry into corruption, and urges ethical reform across the ranks.

Corruption watchdog and forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan has thrown down the gauntlet, calling for an urgent judicial inquiry and the suspension of South Africa’s top police officials. His comments come after KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, accused Police Minister Bheki Cele and others of foul play claims and O’Sullivan is not buying.

“It smacks of arrogance and threatening behaviour,” said O’Sullivan, referring to Mkhwanazi’s press briefing where he appeared flanked by heavily armed officers in combat uniform. “He’s not task force. That was a staged performance to intimidate.”

O’Sullivan slammed the contents of Mkhwanazi’s presentation, which was circulated to media, labelling it “riddled with intentional factual errors.” He insists the public is being misled, adding that this behaviour recalls the scandal-ridden era of former police chief Jackie Selebi, convicted of corruption in 2010.

“It’s déjà vu,” O’Sullivan warned. “We’re staring down another Selebi-Scorpions disaster if this rot isn’t cleaned out immediately.”

He didn’t stop there. O’Sullivan accused both Mkhwanazi and National Commissioner Fannie Masemola of unethical conduct dating back over a decade. “In 2012, Masemola, then acting head of Crime Intelligence, bypassed procurement processes to spend R35 million on luxury vehicles—with Mkhwanazi’s approval,” he said. The scandal was swept under the rug, he added, with no accountability.

More recently, the pair reportedly returned from an overseas trip with Louis Vuitton handbags for their wives, allegedly gifted by a police supplier now facing corruption charges. “Are we seriously okay with top brass receiving gifts from suppliers under investigation?” he questioned. “We need to ask: Did they declare customs? Did they breach the law?”

O’Sullivan argues the SAPS needs structural cleansing: “If we can’t trust our cops, who the hell can we trust?” He asserts that good officers do exist, but are being held back by unethical leadership.

“We need professional policing, not political policing,” he concluded. “It’s time to stop the slush fund wars and restore ethics to the police service. South Africans deserve better.”

Listen to the full interview on The Daily Round-Up with Moulana Junaid Kharsany and Corruption watchdog and forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan.