Nkabinde
Cape Town – Suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s chief of staff, Cedric Nkabinde, has defended his choice to send a serious complaint from MP Fadiel Adams straight to the Independent Directorate for Anti-Corruption (IDAC). He told Parliament’s ad hoc committee on Wednesday, 19 November 2025, that the move was needed because Adams had completely lost trust in National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola. This step kicked off a chain of events that led to the arrest of Crime Intelligence boss Dumisani Khumalo, sparking fresh debates on how complaints against top cops should be handled.
Nkabinde’s testimony shines a light on the tensions bubbling in South Africa’s police force, where claims of corruption and interference are under the microscope. As the committee digs into these issues, his explanation shows how even one email can shake up high-level probes.
The Complaint That Sparked the Referral
It all started with an email on 1 November 2024 from Sakeena Frenchman, acting for Adams, the leader of the National Coloured Congress (NCC). The message went to Nkabinde and Mchunu’s personal assistant, raising alarms about criminal dockets Adams had opened being unlawfully intercepted. Adams said he had lost all faith in Masemola and asked for an independent body to look into it.
Nkabinde saw this as more than a simple service delivery gripe. “This complaint itself is showing that a complainant has lost confidence in the national commissioner,” he told the committee. He felt IDAC was the right fit because Masemola is “the number one cop in the country,” and only a truly independent group could handle it fairly.
Adams, a vocal MP known for pushing issues affecting coloured communities, had filed six dockets in quick succession between 28 and 30 October 2024. Three went to Cape Town Central Police Station and three to Orlando SAPS in Gauteng. They accused Masemola of fraud, theft, nepotism, abuse of the secret services account, and covering up crimes. Adams claimed Masemola ran a patronage network, hiring family and friends without proper checks, turning the police into a jobs machine for insiders.
A follow-up email on 10 November 2024 from Adams pushed again for an independent probe, making it clear this was no ordinary matter. Nkabinde said he did not reach out to Adams for more details or talk to Masemola about the claims. Instead, following orders from Mchunu, he sent it to IDAC for them to decide next steps.
Heated Exchanges in the Committee
The ad hoc committee, set up to probe claims of criminal ties in the police after KwaZulu-Natal Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s July 2025 bombshell, grilled Nkabinde hard. Evidence leader Advocate Norman Arendse called the referral “entirely inappropriate,” saying it set off Khumalo’s arrest without enough checks.
“You will say, well, you referred it to IDAC, they had to do their job and had to do the investigation, and they were the ones who arrested him and had him charged. But it started with your referral, which I want to submit to you in conclusion, to be entirely inappropriate and that’s putting it mildly,” Arendse said.
Nkabinde pushed back, saying IDAC looks into things on their own and reports to the justice minister, not him. He stressed that his office gets hundreds of complaints, but this one stood out because of the clear distrust in the top cop. “Definitely, as he is requesting an independent body, the independent body relevant will be IDAC,” Nkabinde added.
The committee also touched on Nkabinde’s links to other figures, like whistleblower Brown Mogotsi, but Nkabinde said he only met him once and denied deeper ties.
Broader Probes Into Police Leadership
This referral ties into bigger storms hitting the South African Police Service. The ad hoc committee stems from Mkhwanazi’s claims of mafia infiltration in the force and politics, leading to Mchunu’s suspension and the shutdown of the Political Killings Task Team. IDAC’s involvement in Adams’ complaint quickly led to Khumalo’s arrest on charges tied to similar corruption allegations.
Adams has been outspoken, also filing perjury charges against Mkhwanazi for alleged lies under oath. He wants a “clean SAPS” free from favouritism, saying human resources in the police seem “compromised and captured.” His actions highlight worries about accountability at the top, where leaders like Masemola face scrutiny over hiring and fund use.
Masemola, who took over in 2022 promising reforms, has not commented directly on the complaint. But the fallout shows how trust in police bosses is fraying, with calls for independent checks to root out rot.
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