MEDIA RELEASE
2025-07-07
SUMMARY: The Labour Party of South Africa (Labour Party) responds to the explosive exposé by Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, implicating Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and his associates. The Party says this confirms that cadre deployment has collapsed the arms of state and vindicates its stance against the President’s R700 million National Dialogue.
The Labour Party has responded to the explosive and deeply troubling revelations by Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi regarding the termination of the task team investigating politically motivated murders. His claims point directly to Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and his known associates.
“We can confirm that cadre deployment has destroyed our country … and in particular the different arms of state”, said interim Labour Party President Joseph Mathunjwa.
According to Mkhwanazi, evidence in the form of WhatsApp messages and financial transactions links Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, his associate Brown Mogotsi, and businessman Vusumuzi “Cat” Matlala to the obstruction of justice. He also reported receiving threats to his life.
During the Marikana Massacre in 2012, AMCU witnessed a clear example of collusion between the state, business interests, and political figures against striking mineworkers. This alliance which was later described in the Farlam Commission as a toxic relationship, revealed how public institutions could be repurposed to defend elite interests rather than protect the rights of ordinary people.
“We honour Mkhwanazi because he is standing for the people when it is clear that the state has abandoned them”, he said. “He knows what it means to wear the badge … not to serve a faction, but to serve the public”, Mathunjwa added.
The Labour Party reiterated its opposition to the system of cadre deployment, stating that the situation reflects broader structural issues within South Africa’s parliamentary democracy. The Party argued that political appointments made by parties, rather than by the public, enable networks of protection and patronage.
“This entire crisis is the result of a system where party bosses appoint the president, ministers and police leaders”, said Mathunjwa. “The people have no say, and so the people have no justice”, he said.
The Labour Party reaffirmed its support for a presidential democracy, in which the state president, premiers, mayors and other key public officials are directly elected by the people.
“If the President was elected by the people, he’d answer to the people and not to a party cabal”, said Mathunjwa. “And if he answered to the people, this would already be stopped”, he explained. “The President and the President alone has the full power to appoint his cabinet of ministers, and not even Parliament has a say. A typical example is Minister Angie Motshekga who lowered the pass rate to 30%, and now you move her to a place where she must protect the sovereignty of our country”, he said.
The Party described the current situation as vindication of its position against the proposed National Dialogue initiated by President Ramaphosa. It stated that the Mkhwanazi matter had sparked a genuine national dialogue without any cost to the taxpayer.
“We don’t need R700 million to talk about the truth”, said Mathunjwa. “We just need one honest man in uniform to expose the rot”, he pointed out.
The Party also questioned the silence of civil society organisations that recently intervened in the Labour Party’s High Court application to halt the National Dialogue process. These include the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, the Thabo Mbeki Foundation, the Steve Biko Foundation, and the Chief Albert Luthuli Foundation.
“They tried to derail us in court last week to protect a fake dialogue organised by their paymasters”, said Mathunjwa. “But where are they now, when the real dialogue has begun, and one of our own is under threat for telling the truth”, he asked. “We were expecting that these foundations would at least issue a press statement on this revelation”, he added.
The Labour Party will return to the Gauteng Division of the High Court tomorrow, 9 July 2025, to continue its application to halt the implementation of the President’s National Dialogue and related expenditure. The case challenges the lawfulness and constitutionality of the process, its duplication of Parliament’s functions, and the estimated public cost of R700 million. It seeks an urgent interdict pending a review of the decision of the President.
“The Labour Party’s court case is not about politics – it’s about principle”, said Mathunjwa. “The people must decide what justice looks like. Not billionaires. Not foundations. And definitely not the ruling elite. How can you have a national dialogue while the country is burning”, he asked.
The Labour Party concluded that the present crisis reflects a structural failure of governance, enabled by a political system that allows power to operate without public accountability.
“This is the cost of a broken system”, said Mathunjwa. “Until we change how leaders are chosen, the same corrupt elite will keep electing each other. This disclosure confirms that South Africans don’t need a national dialogue, but rather true ethical leadership with compassion and empathy”, Mathunjwa concluded.
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