Mkhwanazi told the public ‘something twisted’, Mchunu tells parliament

Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has accused KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi of twisting facts to suit his narrative.

Mchunu said he never denied knowing Brown Mogotsi, and only said the man was a comrade, not an associate.

The minister explained that during the parliamentary meeting in March 2025, when asked about knowing Mogotsi, the image presented to him was not of Mogotsi but of someone he had no knowledge of. Hence, his answer was that he did not know the person.

He has known Mogotsi since 2017, he told parliament on Tuesday.

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However, he knows him as a comrade he sees occasionally and discusses “this and that” with, not as an associate.

“I was approached by somebody who said somebody goes around saying they work and travel with me and I asked to see the photo. I need to make it clear, the person who was in the photo was not Brown Mogotsi, even though I didn’t say it that way during the portfolio committee, but it wasn’t,” explained Mchunu.

“That’s why, on looking at the photo, I say I don’t know this person, which is not Mogotsi; it’s another person I don’t know. There is no way that was a lie because it was my story. Mogotsi is not my associate, but a comrade.

Watch what Mchunu said:

Police Minister Senzo Mchunu denying he knows or is an associate of Brown Mogotsi during a Police Portfolio Committee on March 5 as earlier indicated by the General
Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. pic.twitter.com/TYh3IocfA5

— Bulelani Phillip (@BulelaniPhillip) July 6, 2025

“What complicated things is that when Mkhwanazi made comments in his statement on 6 July, he told the public something twisted, he said Mchunu said he doesn’t know Brown Mogotsi in parliament, which I never said, but he tells the public something twisted.

“I actually said I don’t know the person who was on the phone, not Mogotsi. He said that to fit his narrative, if he was not making a genuine error, it’s one of the two. I never said I don’t know Mogotsi in the portfolio committee, I said he was not my associate.”

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Mchunu said that in the years he knew Mogotsi, he never asked him any personal questions.

“I’ve never asked him whether he’s married or not, I’ve never been to his home, I’ve never enquired about his personal life, whether he’s employed or not, because we just occasionally talk about this and that,” he said.

‘I never responded’

Mchunu was questioned about the messages Mogotsi sent him on WhatsApp. He acknowledged receiving the messages but said he never responded, as he was unsure what the man was talking about.

One of the messages read: “Minister, am going to get the case number and this judgment for you. Now we’ve got something proven by the court! This is the matter now, which either Sibiya or the Minister can charge Khumalo and apply Rule 9 of the disciplinary hearing. It took the Constitutional Court to rule on a man who was sentenced to life imprisonment through a forced Section 204 confession. Imagine Cde Senzo, after 30 years of democracy, having this kind of policing. The good thing now is that these r not allegations but a court judgment.”

Mchunu said he never asked Mogotsi what he was talking about in these messages.

‘I don’t know Matlala’

While he does know who Mogotsi is, Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala is a stranger to him, testified Mchunu.

“I’ve never met Matlala alone; I’ve never met him in the company of Mogotsi and possibly, in any other capacity. He’s not someone I know or have spoken to, either directly or indirectly. I never had anything to do with Matlala. I don’t know him,” Mchunu said.

The minister instructed his lawyers to obtain a statement from Matlala, who is at the C-Max unit at Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Centre for another case.

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This was in a bid to prove that the two do not know each other.

“I wish the Madlanga commission or ad hoc committee could get him to testify whether he really knows me,” said Mchunu.

He further denied allegations that Matlala funded his political campaign and did business with his son.