By Thapelo Molefe
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) has demanded urgent accountability from President Cyril Ramaphosa following revelations at the Madlanga Commission that he allegedly instructed the deployment of elite police units to provide private security for Richards Bay Minerals (RBM).
Testifying under oath last Friday, KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said Ramaphosa directed National Commissioner Fannie Masemola to deploy the Special Task Force (STF) and National Intervention Unit (NIU) to protect the mining company.
Both units are among South Africa’s most specialised divisions, ordinarily reserved for counterterrorism, high-risk operations, and national security threats.
Mkhwanazi told the inquiry his team had investigated the 2021 murder of RBM general manager Nico Swart, who was gunned down on his way to work.
After a year-long probe, police arrested a suspect linked to the killing, but the man was murdered while out on bail before he could testify—derailing hopes of a conviction.
Following this, Mkhwanazi said he withdrew his team from Richards Bay.
He testified that on the President’s instructions, he was later told to redeploy his officers, and that the NIU was dispatched without his knowledge while he was still arranging his team’s return.
In a formal letter to the Presidency on Monday, MKP leaders John Hlophe, the party’s deputy president, and MP Mzwanele Manyi said the revelations raise “grave constitutional, ethical, governance, and intelligence-related concerns.”
The letter accuses Ramaphosa of misusing state security resources for the narrow benefit of a multinational corporation at taxpayer expense.
“The STF and NIU are elite units trained for high-risk operations and state security functions. Their exclusive deployment to RBM suggests the capture of state security and intelligence resources for narrow private interests,” the Party wrote.
The party warned that diverting such resources away from tackling violent crime, gender-based violence and organised criminal networks undermines public safety.
It also questioned whether the deployment was authorised under any lawful framework and called for disclosure of the financial costs borne by the state.
“The state apparatus exists to serve the people of South Africa, not to be abused for the narrow benefit of business associates or multinational corporations,” the letter reads.
In a statement, the MK Party described the revelations as confirmation of its long-standing claim that the Ramaphosa administration has “captured” the criminal justice system.
“The rule of law is being subverted by the very people sworn to uphold it,” the party said.
The party has demanded that the President disclose the legal basis, scope and rationale for the deployment, as well as whether similar preferential deployments have been made to other private companies.
The party further threatened to escalate the matter to Parliament, Chapter 9 institutions, the Auditor-General and the courts should the President fail to provide satisfactory answers.
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