By Dylan Bettencourt
- National commissioner Fannie Masemola chose Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi to lead a new national team fighting big crime rings across South Africa.
- Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi will put different police units under one command to catch drug gangs and stop officers from taking bribes.
KwaZulu-Natal’s top police boss, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, has a massive new job. He will take on a national role to fight organised crime gangs. He will juggle this with his current duties in the province.
Speaking in Durban on Friday, Mkhwanazi said national commissioner Fannie Masemola chose him for the job. Masemola must brief the premier about how this will affect the province.
Mkhwanazi will travel often between provinces. He spent time in Pretoria this week and will return next week. He will also visit Cape Town soon.
“As time progresses, we will see how feasible it is to do both,” Mkhwanazi said.
The new plan will bring different police units together under one central command. It copies the successful Political Killings Task Team.
Mkhwanazi said keeping detectives and intelligence units separate weakened their work in the past.
Working together will help officers catch smart crime rings faster. It will also help fight corruption inside the police force.
Mkhwanazi said officers take bribes easily when they work alone without close supervision.
“When you bring them under one team, everyone checks everyone,” he said.
A special team in Pretoria is already looking at police files to decide which crime rings to target first. They will use profiles from crime intelligence to hunt down local and international networks.
The police will focus heavily on gangs and drug networks. Taking these big cases to court takes time, especially when corrupt officials in local municipalities are involved.
“It’s a big elephant. We won’t finish it at once,” Mkhwanazi said.
Pictured above: KwaZulu-Natal police boss Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
Image source: File
