General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi at the parliamentary ad hoc committee on 18 March. (Photo: Brenton Geach / Gallo Image) KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has declared there will “never be peace” between him and suspended deputy national commissioner Shadrack Sibiya, following a series of explosive mutual allegations that have shattered their professional relationship
These allegations, in part, have played out at the parliamentary ad hoc committee investigating the allegations Mkhwanazi made at a July 2025 media briefing that a drug trafficking cartel had infiltrated South Africa’s law enforcement and political circles. The parallel Madlanga Commission has also called both generals to the stand as it probes the claims.
Mkhwanazi was the first witness at the ad hoc committee in October 2025, when public hearings started. On Wednesday, 18 March, he returned as the committee’s last witness.
During that period, the rift between Mkhwanazi and Sibiya has widened into a public chasm. Once a highly respected police officer, Sibiya is now fighting claims that he has been co-opted by the very criminal syndicates he was meant to dismantle.
Sibiya, who has denied any wrongdoing, has been placed on suspension. He claimed in October 2025 that all the issues between himself and Mkhwanazi relate to the battle for succession in the SA Police Service.
On Wednesday, during his testimony, Mkhwanazi was asked by DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach about his July 2025 media briefing and who he believed he was protecting the country from. He pointed to Sibiya.
/file/attachments/orphans/ED_596507_746842.jpg "General Shadrack Sibiya testifies at the Madlanga Commission on 18 February. (Photo: Frennie Shivambu / Gallo Images)")
Breytenbach asked why Mkhwanazi wore a Special Task Force (STF) uniform during his media briefing. Mkhwanazi, a former STF leader, testified that he’d been speaking to individuals about a “danger”. He was led to believe that unnamed individuals — “they” — were planning a “takeover” and thus, “We have reached a stage where we must face an enemy head-on.”
In the light of that, he received permission from the national police commissioner, Fannie Masemola, to wear the uniform.
/file/attachments/orphans/WhatsAppImage2026-03-18at114740_963991.jpeg "Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi testifies before Parliament’s ad hoc committee. (Photo: Zwelethemba Kostile /Parliament RSA)")
When asked by Breytenbach who “they” were, Mkhwanazi did not name anyone specifically.
He claimed, “Once General Sibiya was sent to the position of the head of the police with the relationship that he has with other key players within the security department, from intelligence to the NPA to presiding officers, some in [the] judiciary, it is easy then for them to drive the country towards where they want.
“And maybe [committee] members don’t know — once you control the security cluster, you take over the country.”
In response to a question from ANC MP Xola Nqola, Mkhwanazi replied, “I can tell you now, there can never be peace between me and Sibiya.”
‘Senthumule can’t be trusted’
Mkhwanazi also spoke extensively about acting deputy national police commissioner Lieutenant General Hilda Senthumule, who testified last week about how she “regrets” not looking into alleged underworld figure Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala before asking him to sponsor a policing award in November 2024. Matlala is accused of having a close relationship with Sibiya, as well as offering him and other leading police officers gifts or financial payments.
Senthumule also denied claims by Sibiya that Matlala paid for her cosmetic enhancement surgery — a “Brazilian butt lift”. She told MPs the money came from a combination of credit cards and a police bonus.
She said she was pursuing civil and criminal charges against Sibiya.
During his testimony, Mkhwanazi produced a recording of a conversation between Senthumule and Sibiya. While not in English, Mkhwanazi alleged the audio proved Senthumule was no bystander in the controversial transfer of 121 dockets away from the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT).
Though primarily focused on KwaZulu-Natal’s high rate of political assassinations, the PKTT had begun probing organised crime syndicates in Gauteng — an expansion that Mkhwanazi claims triggered the unit’s disbandment by the then police minister, Senzo Mchunu, and the relocation of its sensitive files to Sibiya’s Gauteng office.
Labelling Senthumule untrustworthy, Mkhwanazi pointed to her as the likely source of the letter that moved the 121 dockets from KZN to SAPS headquarters. He noted the stark contrast between her public denials and the recording, which allegedly revealed she played a far more active role in shifting the dockets to national headquarters than she admitted.
/file/attachments/orphans/WhatsAppImage2026-03-10at1249041_386266.jpeg "Lieutenant General Hilda Senthumule testifies before the ad hoc committee on 10 March. (Photo: Zwelethemba Kostile / RSA Parliament)")
Mkhwanazi told Breytenbach that during his stint as the acting national police commissioner, he moved Senthumule out of Crime Intelligence and into human resources. He claimed she had abused the Crime Intelligence secret slush fund.
He told EFF MP Leigh-Ann Mathys he had launched an investigation into Senthumule, but he was then shifted out of the top job and did not know whether the probe was ever concluded.
With Mkhwanazi’s testimony concluded, the committee now pivots to the high-pressure task of drafting its final report. These findings, along with a set of critical recommendations, are set to be tabled in the National Assembly. The committee has until the end of the month to complete its work. DM