By Johnathan Paoli
Suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s chief of staff, Cedrick Nkabinde, has accused National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola and KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi of intimidation, harassment, and attempts to destroy crucial evidence.
Nkabinde said a search and seizure operation targeting him and Mchunu focused on mobile phones and electronic devices, allegedly to delete evidence that could disprove Mkhwanazi’s claims.
Addressing journalists at a tense media briefing in Sandton on Thursday, Nkabinde said he and his family had been subjected to unlawful raids by heavily armed officers, allegedly acting on Masemola’s instructions.
“Should anything happen to me, National Commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola will be responsible,” he declared.
He described a dramatic incident in which his brother was allegedly mistaken for him during a raid at his flat.
Nkabinde said about 15 to 20 police officers, wearing balaclavas and armed with high-calibre rifles, conducted the search and seizure at his home. He claimed the officers assaulted his brother after finding him there, allegedly mistaking him for Nkabinde.
He said the assault only stopped when his brother produced identification proving he was not Nkabinde.
The officers allegedly forced his brother to accompany them in their search, saying: “We cannot come all the way from KZN for nothing. We must get him.”
Nkabinde added that the same group later appeared at Mchunu’s official residence in Pretoria, attempting to gain entry.
He linked the raids to efforts to seize devices containing evidence meant for submission to both the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry and Parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating corruption in the criminal justice system.
“The timing is questionable. They want to remove the evidence from our gadgets because we have unbelievably valuable material to present,” he said.
Nkabinde further claimed that Masemola had confirmed to parliamentary evidence leaders that search and seizure warrants had been authorised for his and Mchunu’s phones and laptops.
He accused police leadership of undermining due process while simultaneously testifying before the committee.
Rejecting suggestions that he was unqualified or involved in illicit activity, Nkabinde outlined his professional record — having joined SAPS in 2004, served as a senior investigator at IPID, and later worked as a forensic manager in the banking sector before joining Mchunu’s office.
He accused Mkhwanazi of spreading “planted lies” about his appointment, describing their fallout as personal rather than professional.
Nkabinde said his lawyers had reported the alleged harassment to both the parliamentary committee and the commission, and that he was seeking a court order to protect the seized devices and preserve evidence.
Masemola told Parliament’s ad hoc committee that he was aware of the search and seizure raids by the police involving Nkabinde, Mchunu and Deputy National Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya.
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