KZN police chief Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi shoots from the hip at SAHRC hearings, says problem lies with society not policing

Belligerent, determined and stubbornly defensive of his “men and women in blue”, career cop Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi shot from the hip while being questioned by the SA Human Rights Commission’s evidence leaders about the allegedly racially motivated murders and attempted murders in Phoenix at the time of the riots. 

His responses were characteristically blunt, one of the reasons the no-nonsense officer is known to be favoured by those under his command. 

“We are talking about 36 murders in Phoenix at this time, but in this financial year which started in April, to date, how many people were killed in Phoenix? You will be shocked that the number of murders in Phoenix is not coming anywhere close to the next door [neighbouring township], which is Inanda,” said Mkhwanazi. 

“Inanda is known for rapes and all these other crimes that you have. The very same communities that are crying about the murders that happened in Phoenix… slaughter each other every single day. 

“So, we ask ourselves a question, what is [the] problem? What must the police do? Yes, we take the blame. We fire the rest of the police because society doesn’t like them, employ new police officers... we are still going to get the same results until we get to the bottom of the problem. The problem is society. 

“You ask yourself…. Not that [I] am saying the death of a person is acceptable, but a lot of them died because they went out there to go loot and the [stampedes] killed them…. 

“The question is, what made the person leave the house to go and steal those groceries? Maybe it was driven by hunger, but was it supposed to be done like that? As a police officer I do not have answers…” 

At least 30 people, most of them black, were allegedly killed by Indian residents during the unrest that took place in Phoenix during the province-wide riots. 

Advocate Buang Jones had been leading evidence about the impromptu roadblocks erected around the mostly Indian township as alleged looters from nearby informal settlements and surrounding areas tried to enter the area, when Mkhwanazi gave his response. 

Some residents from surrounding areas appear to have been trying to pass through Phoenix as shortcuts to their homes, or trying to fill up their cars with petrol, as stations had run dry during the riots. 

Some of the alleged victims of the racial violence – several have already appeared before the commission – were allegedly severely assaulted at the roadblocks by vigilante groups, while others were allegedly murdered by these groups. Several community members have been arrested over the Phoenix violence, with the matters yet to come to trial. 

According to Mkhwanazi’s testimony, 281 people died in KwaZulu-Natal as a result of the unrest. The commission is, however, focusing on the alleged racial attacks in “Indian areas” such as Phoenix, Chatsworth and Pietermaritzburg’s Mountain Rise.  

On Tuesday, Mkhwanazi testified that the majority of the deaths in the province were as a result of looters scrambling for goods and being crushed in the process, or fighting among each other for stolen goods. The same was said by KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala in a public statement issued shortly after the mayhem.  

Many of the rioters were drunk and armed with knives, guns and other weapons, such as rocks and bricks. 

The “overwhelmed” police – particularly the 18,000 in KwaZulu-Natal under Mkhwanazi’s command – have been severely criticised for their absence during the eight days of unrest, which left communities in townships and suburbs to defend themselves, their businesses and shopping centres via impromptu patrol groups, some of which still exist today with the blessing of local police stations.  

Such was the extent of the looting and the blockading of delivery routes that the province experienced R20-billion in damages and suffered shortages of food. Well over 100,000 people are estimated to have lost their jobs due to the riots, which also affected Gauteng to a lesser extent.  

When evidence leader advocate Smanga Sethene started questioning Mkhwanazi about the Phoenix roadblocks, Sethene implied, and then said, that roadblocks erected on public roads by citizens were illegal, that they should not have been there, and the deaths in Phoenix at those barricades could have been prevented. He wanted to know why police at the Phoenix police station had not removed the barricades and arrested those who had erected them. 

“[The police] did not fail in their constitutional mandate by failing to remove a barricade. The barricade couldn’t be stopped, it was there already,” responded Mkhwanazi.  

“What did police do to ensure there were no barricades erected?” asked Sethene.  

“I said yesterday there are over 1,000km [of] roads…” 

Mkhwanazi was determined: “The police were not in every metre of the streets. The majority of the barricades were erected without the police seeing the people who were erecting them. I drove through those barricades in the middle of the night… They were erected when the police were not there.” 

Sethene then asked about Mkhwanazi’s time as the acting national commissioner of the SAPS. Mkhwanazi turned to the commission chairperson, Andre Gaum. “Relevance of this question?” he asked.  

The question was “definitely not irrelevant”, said Gaum. Following some back and forth, and Sethene not so subtly threatening Mkhwanazi with the Commissions Act, a short break was decided on.  

The police were not in every metre of the streets. The majority of the barricades were erected without the police seeing the people who were erecting them. I drove through those barricades in the middle of the night… They were erected when the police were not there.