Lt-Gen Mkhwanazi names DA MPs in Political Killings Syndicate
DA Member of Parliament named in the political killings cases. (MDN)
by Mathipa Phishego
The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into political killings took a dramatic turn on Thursday when Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, head of the SAPS Political Killings Task Team, alleged that two Democratic Alliance (DA) MPs were implicated in a syndicate linked to assassinations.
According to Mkhwanazi, DA parliamentarians Fadiel Adams and Dianne Kohler Barnard are among the politicians suspected of involvement. “DA MPs Fadiel Adams and Kohler Barnard are part of parliament members who are implicated in the syndicate,” Mkhwanazi testified.
The revelation is especially striking given Adams’s past criticism of Mkhwanazi in Parliament. Earlier this year, during a heated National Assembly debate in March 2025. Adams accused Mkhwanazi of failing to dismantle the syndicates terrorising communities and suggested that his Task Team was more interested in statistics than justice.
At the time, Mkhwanazi brushed off the remarks, insisting his unit was constrained by judicial loopholes and political interference, but the exchange foreshadowed the simmering tension between the two. Now, with Adams named as part of the very syndicates he accused police of failing to fight, the testimony adds a dramatic twist to their public clash.
Mkhwanazi’s explosive claims go beyond the DA MPs. Earlier in the week, he alleged that both businesspeople and politicians have interfered with murder investigations, pressuring police to close dockets and shielding suspects from prosecution.
On Wednesday, Mkhwanazi claimed that Minister Senzo Mchunu had ties to syndicates, citing recorded communications between him and associates.
The allegation against sitting DA MPs has sent shockwaves through Parliament. While no formal charges have been laid, the claims raise urgent questions about the extent of political complicity in the wave of killings destabilizing parts of South Africa.
The Commission, chaired by Justice Madlanga, is set to continue hearing testimony from senior police officials and witnesses in the coming days. Mkhwanazi’s claims have intensified scrutiny on the intersection of politics, business, and organized violence, raising the stakes for both government and opposition parties alike.
