“This country was going to Burn” — Mbalula on Mkhwanazi's revelations

ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has warned that South Africa might have descended into chaos had President Cyril Ramaphosa not acted swiftly in response to explosive claims made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.

Speaking at the ANC’s Mpumalanga Provincial General Council held at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday, Mbalula strongly defended the president’s decision to establish the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. This commission was set up to probe allegations of political interference and criminal collusion within law enforcement structures, following Mkhwanazi’s dramatic media briefing on 6 July.

In that briefing, Mkhwanazi claimed that senior politicians and police officials were undermining police operations and working with criminal syndicates — a statement that shook public confidence and sent ripples through government ranks.

Mbalula said that the seriousness of the allegations demanded a measured but firm response.

“On the sixth of July, we wake up, there is a policeman addressing the nation and saying, here are the allegations,” Mbalula told delegates. “There are many forces in society that wanted to elevate that thing to a form of revolt against the democratic state, like it happened during the Jacob Zuma unrest.”

He drew comparisons with the July 2021 riots, which left more than 300 people dead and caused billions in damages, warning that similar unrest could have unfolded had the state ignored the claims.

“If the president of the country, according to the ANC, were to treat that matter as a by-the-way issue, this country was going to turn into flames,” Mbalula said.

Critics of the commission have argued that such inquiries have historically produced limited outcomes. But Mbalula said the ANC supports the move, stressing that it was necessary to protect the rule of law and preserve public trust.

“The president took a decision in his own wisdom, legally guided, and as the ANC, we supported that. The matter Mkhwanazi was raising was important,” he said. “These things border on this country becoming a banana republic and the fall of the rule of law.”

He also acknowledged the growing public scepticism over corruption and governance, saying: “If somebody wakes up and says the state is infiltrated by criminal cartels, tsotsis, comrades and deployees in government, and you put a blind eye on that, our people are not fools. They were going to revolt in the streets.”

Mbalula cautioned against drawing premature conclusions while the commission carries out its mandate. “The principle of the law is that the other side must be listened to. The commission is not declaring people guilty ,it is meant to establish facts.”

He added that the ANC remains committed to accountability, but individuals must be judged on evidence, not public opinion.

“Let evidence lead,” he said. “Where individuals are found to have acted outside the parameters of the constitution and the law, the law must take its course. Where systems fail, we must fix them.”

The Madlanga Commission is expected to begin public hearings later this month.