The “General Mkhwanazi moment” arrived when South Africa was slowly but surely being brought to its knees by an uncontrollable crime rate that has visited tears and sorrow upon families across the country.
The new South Africa of Nelson Mandela — a rainbow nation once lauded as the world’s shining example of reconciliation, able to unite races once acrimoniously divided — suddenly became the skunk of the world. What perniciously altered this positive narrative was crime, from petty theft to insidious organised cartels.
South Africans were freed from apartheid policies, yet found themselves incarcerated behind towering perimeter walls, for those who could afford them. Criminals claimed every street, irrespective of day or night. Crime statistics painted an egregious picture of a war-zone: nearly 7,000 innocent souls dying violently each quarter. Youth were transmogrified into modern-day zombies, branded “amaphara”, as every form of pernicious narcotic became readily accessible — from urban streets to the benighted, impoverished villages of our land.
Unfathomable stories became a daily cacophony of media reports: drugs worth millions stolen from police storage. Hope for a better nation dissipated daily, and citizens became inured to these horrors. I recall, in 1999 during my days of radio training in Norway, a single stabbing became national news. It seemed preposterous to me that such an incident would cause uproar, when in my country the death of one person would scarcely register as a headline.
Crime has decimated race relations and completely eroded trust amongst different communities. To this day, certain groups feel targeted, believing government is oblivious to gang violence and farm attacks. Some have resorted to hiring private security to guarantee their own safety and property. South Africa resembled an undeclared war zone, where citizens endured the spectacle of heavily armed, balaclava-clad men guarding ordinary shoppers in malls.
This truculence bred confusion. In the Eastern Cape we witnessed the mushrooming of non-governmental convoys with orange lights and heavily armed men. In some instances these convoys were ambushed on public roads. Cash-in-transit heists became quotidian. Killers known as “iinkabi” emerged as a new, malevolent phenomenon — men and women executed for cash. This concatenation of events changed our image globally, ranking us among the most violent nations on earth. Areas like Mthatha haemorrhaged business and investment, exacerbating poverty and unemployment in the Eastern Cape.
It took one senior police officer, General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, to speak out and expose the rot that has caused so much pain. Pain that forced our Commander-in-Chief to deploy the country’s last line of defence — the SANDF — to reclaim the streets. It remains to be seen if the strategy will succeed.
Yet to many citizens, General Mkhwanazi emerged like a panacea when he publicly lamented the existence of cartels and the capture of senior police officials by criminal syndicates. His cries brought hope. He became an instant hero. When there were insidious whispers questioning whether he could substantiate his shocking claims, South Africans stood by him declaring: “Mkhwanazi is us, we are Mkhwanazi.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa established the Madlanga Commission to probe Mkhwanazi’s claims. It soon became glaringly clear that the General was armed with a plethora of evidence for both the Madlanga Commission and the parliamentary ad hoc committee that entered the fray to establish facts on police infiltration.
The General Mkhwanazi moment continues to inspire hope. Suddenly, reports of extortion dissipated. Alleged criminals who once shot at police died with illegal weapons in their hands. The SAPS regained public trust, courtesy of General Mkhwanazi.
The announcement of a national police task team and a national organised crime task team led by General Mkhwanazi is, without doubt, an assurance to foreign and domestic investors that it is still safe to invest in South Africa. Of course, the road ahead remains an arduous terrain. One need not be perspicacious to understand that illegal lethal arms remain in criminal hands. However, the President’s announcement that General Mkhwanazi’s national team has been allocated resources from the national fiscus and a special fund is welcome.
South Africans want to see an end to farm killings, drugs, taxi violence, extortion, and hitmen. They want a safe and prosperous South Africa with jobs and opportunities for all. They want to see the 1994 promise enjoyed by all.
South Africans demand credible police generals and managers. They demand clean governance. They demand a safer South Africa. They want to enjoy life without fear of criminals. They demand a government that guarantees safe sleep in their homes. They demand accountability, integrity and humility.
General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi — a sudden national household name — is the man of the moment. He carries the hopes and aspirations of South Africans. This is a challenge to all government officials: become a momentous “General Mkhwanazi” to reclaim our glory by fighting all forms of crime, from white-collar fraud to gangsterism.
Statements will not refute accusations of “non-existent genocide” in South Africa. But a General Mkhwanazi moment of action to extirpate violent crime, fraud, corruption and gangsterism will boost our economy. It will silence our most vitriolic critics and bring joy to all.
This moment calls for every citizen to join hands to resuscitate the Mandela dream of a free, better South Africa for all. The new interventions in the South African Police Service — with suspensions and new acting appointments in strategic positions — are understood by South Africans as a cleansing phase to root out the rot.
The nation anticipates a scathing Madlanga Commission report which may not only send people to jail but rewrite government policy to curb abuse and maladministration.
Sizwe Kupelo is a government spokesperson and a former journalist. He writes in his personal capacity.
