By Johnathan Paoli
‘Comrade’ culture is to blame for the politicisation of the South African Police Service (SAPS), according to KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
He was responding to questions from EFF leader Julius Malema during Tuesday’s Ad Hoc Committee hearings in Parliament, where MPs probed allegations of political interference and the erosion of discipline within SAPS.
Malema began by asking Mkhwanazi whether he was a deployed cadre.
“No, unfortunately,” the general replied bluntly, setting the tone for an exchange about how political loyalties have infiltrated the police.
Mkhwanazi told the committee that discipline within SAPS began to deteriorate when individuals “who didn’t grow up in the police” entered the organisation, undermining the chain of command.
“The leadership that arrived at Crime Intelligence were comrades,” he said.
He described a cultural shift in which constables began addressing senior officers as “comrade”, a practice that intensified after the ANC’s 2007
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