'A Dirty Office': KZN Police Boss Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi Calls for Total Purge of SAPS Vetting Unit Amid Security Clearance Row

KZN Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi tells Parliament his security clearance is being blocked by a corrupt vetting unit under Major-General Feroz Khan.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 18, 2026, 9:34 AM EDT

Source: The information in this article was sourced from IOL

Explosive Testimony Highlights Deep Institutional Fractures within SAPS

In a high-stakes appearance before Parliament’s ad hoc committee on Wednesday, KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi leveled scathing allegations of corruption against the South African Police Service (SAPS) vetting unit. Mkhwanazi, who has been without a valid security clearance for eight years, characterized the vetting office as "dirty" and "compromised." He specifically named Major-General Feroz Khan as the primary architect of what he described as a deliberate campaign to block his clearance through the use of unverified allegations and "stolen documents."

The Security Clearance Timeline: A Decade of Delays and Polygraphs

Mkhwanazi clarified that while his top-secret clearance expired in 2018, he had proactively applied for renewal as early as 2013 through the State Security Agency (SSA). He detailed a rigorous process involving polygraph tests and full financial disclosures, which he claims the SSA completed successfully. However, the clearance was reportedly withheld following a late-stage intervention by an official from the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) in KZN. Mkhwanazi told the committee he was falsely implicated in a 2013 "hit squad" case—a charge he finds absurd given that he was stationed in Pretoria and had never worked in KwaZulu-Natal at that time.

Allegations of Sabotage and 'Phantom' Criminal Cases

The top cop argued that his name has been systematically "included" in various investigations to justify the lack of clearance. These include a case involving former acting national commissioner Khomotso Phahlane and even a hijacking case in Brooklyn, Pretoria, for which he claims he was not even present. Mkhwanazi accused the vetting section of using these "ghost" cases to stall his applications, noting that a second attempt to secure clearance through Crime Intelligence in 2022 also remains unresolved. "Parliament must ask how honest the vetting process is across the police and other institutions," he urged, suggesting the system is being weaponized against specific officers.