Paul O’Sullivan set to challenge Mkhwanazi’s claims before Parliament's ad hoc committee

KwaZulu-Natal police boss Nhlanhla Mkwhanazi and forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan do not see eye to eye.

Mkhwanazi has elaborated on his stance against O’Sullivan before Parliament’s ad hoc committee. The roles are likely to be reversed on Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 and 11 February, when O’Sullivan testifies before the committee.

O’Sullivan’s name has cropped up in policing and State Capture sagas over several years.

It has been linked to cracking down on suspected (and other) wrongdoing, and, in one case, going after journalists writing about it.

Read more: AmaBhungane’s journalists versus Zunaid Moti and Paul O’Sullivan

Like witnesses before him, O’Sullivan will on Tuesday be led through his main submission to the ad hoc committee, which is likely to touch on his background, address the accusations against him, and present his perspective on broader policing events.

After that, MPs will have a chance to question O’Sullivan, which is when the hearing may get heated.

‘Clean man or agent?’

During previous ad hoc proceedings, the EFF’s Julius Malema described O’Sullivan as “untouchable” and “a bully”.

Malema also asked Mkhwanazi, who was a witness before the committee, if O’Sullivan was an intelligence agent with the UK’s MI6.

Read more: Jail ‘captured journalists’ and ‘negligent MPs with leaked intelligence’ – Mkhwanazi

Mkhwanazi responded that he had heard “talks” about this and claimed that O’Sullivan had citizenship in three countries, which made him “wonder”.

“Is Paul O’Sullivan a clean man or an agent? This country must not sit back and be run by Paul O’Sullivan,” said Mkhwanazi.

Parliament’s ad hoc committee is investigating allegations that Mkhwanazi made at a press conference in July last year that a drug cartel had infiltrated South Africa’s criminal justice and political system.

Among those he implicated is the now sidelined police minister, Senzo Mchunu, who denied any wrongdoing.

‘Tough guy taking on government’

While Mkhwanazi portrays himself as a whistleblower, O’Sullivan views him very differently.

In a Newzroom Afrika interview after Mkhwanazi’s press conference, O’Sullivan equated him to a criminal and accused him of lying to the media.

He said that Mkhwanazi had acted unlawfully by talking publicly about ongoing criminal investigations.

“Who authorised him to dress up in combat uniform with a dozen men on either side of him in combat gear with masks to demonstrate that he’s a tough guy and he’s going to take on the government?” O’Sullivan asked.

He said the public needed to hold Mkhwanazi accountable.

O’Sullivan questioned National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola’s role in the Mkhwanazi saga.

This is what O’Sullivan is expected to expand on when he testifies during Tuesday’s ad hoc committee proceedings.

Crime Intelligence and cash controversies

He is also expected to detail allegations against members of the controversial Crime Intelligence unit.

For years, there have been suspicions that senior officers have been looting the unit’s slush fund. A former Crime Intelligence head, Richard Mdluli, is facing criminal charges related to this matter. He has pleaded not guilty.

There are now suggestions that the Mkhwanazi-sparked police scandal may actually be about the contentious secret fund.

O’Sullivan has lodged complaints that led to the opening of dockets relating to Crime Intelligence.

This part of the saga goes much deeper.

In March last year, the SA Police Service warned that the national Crime Intelligence head, Dumisani Khumalo, was being targeted for his efforts to reform the unit.

Read more: Crime Intelligence target of social media fake news, but Parliament hears unit also like ‘a mafia’

According to the police, the targeting involved “fake news” and accusations that Khumalo was appointing people aligned with him.

In June 2025, Khumalo and six colleagues were arrested on charges of fraud and corruption relating to the alleged appointment of an unqualified civilian in a senior post within the SAPS.

They denied the accusations.

Following their arrests, O’Sullivan called for their suspensions.

‘The crime cartel’

Mkhwanazi held his press conference 10 days after Khumalo and his colleagues were arrested, at which he referred to a publicised call for the suspension of Khumalo and his co-accused.

He did not indicate who the call emanated from, but O’Sullivan was on record as calling for the suspensions.

Mkhwanazi alleged: “It’s a call that is putting more pressure to make sure that the Crime Intelligence is handed over to the criminal syndicate.

“That’s what it’s about.”

Mkhwanazi subsequently inferred that Khumalo had been targeted so that critical investigations could be derailed.

The flip side of that is the theory O’Sullivan is expected to present on Tuesday — that Mkhwanazi’s press conference was an attempt to distract from criminality in Crime Intelligence.

These two key countering stances highlight clean divides cutting through South Africa’s law enforcement arena, especially the police service.

Some officers have sided with Mkhwanazi, while others have asserted that he is misleading the public, which is roughly what O’Sullivan has stated. DM