KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has been accused of personally taking part in the torture of a suspended police officer while he was in custody.
The allegations were made by former South African Police Service (Saps) sergeant Samkeliso Honest Mlotshwa during testimony before parliament’s ad hoc committee in Cape Town on Friday, 13 March.
The committee is probing claims of corruption, criminal conduct and political interference within South Africa’s justice system.
Arrest linked to KZN businessman’s kidnapping case
Mlotshwa was arrested in Mozambique on 23 November 2024 in connection with the kidnapping of KwaDukuza businessman Zakariyya Desai, who had been abducted earlier that year.
He was brought back to South Africa a few days later and charged alongside Mozambican nationals Esmael Maulide Ramos Nangy and Stefane Pereira Da Costa Brites.
The trio faced charges including kidnapping, extortion and attempted murder.
However, the National Prosecuting Authority withdrew the charges in January 2025.
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) is currently investigating the torture allegations.
Business trip turns into nightmare
During his testimony, Mlotshwa, who joined Sap in early 2006, told MPs he was working on the day of Desai’s kidnapping on 10 September 2024.
He later went to the police barracks after finishing his shift at Lebombo Border Post in Komatipoort.
He testified that he had travelled to Maputo for a “business trip” to repatriate the body of a client as he runs a funeral parlour in Matshulu, Mpumalanga.
Mlotshwa revealed that he was apprehended at a restaurant in Bilene before being taken to a remote area where he was interrogated about Desai’s disappearance and allegedly assaulted.
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He claimed police confiscated his belongings, including his passport.
According to him, there was no warrant of arrest.
He was later transported and detained at a local police station in Maputo.
“They detained me as an illegal immigrant as if I was in Maputo illegally,” Mlotshwa said.
A South African embassy official later assisted him with a temporary passport on 27 November, allowing him to return to back to the country.
Assault, torture claims against Mkhwanazi and co
After being transported to KZN on 28 November, Mlotshwa said he was handed over to a police team reporting to Mkhwanazi and taken to the KwaDukuza police station.
He told the committee that he was removed from his cell at night and tortured in an attempt to force him to confess to the kidnapping.
Mlotshwa further claimed officers offered him R500 000 to falsely implicate Nangy.
“They told me they don’t want me – they want Nangy,” he testified.
Mlotshwa also alleged that on 9 December 2024, he and Nangy were taken from their holding cells after appearing in the KwaDukuza Magistrate’s Court and driven to an unidentified farm.
Instead of an official police vehicle, he was transported in a black Volkswagen Touareg belonging to the kidnapped businessman’s brother, Yacoob Yusuf Desai.
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Yacoob is the director of KZN-based security company Xtreme Defence, which had allegedly been assisting police in the search for his brother.
At the farm, Mlotshwa claimed the two detainees were taken to a kitchen where further torture occurred.
He informed the committee that Nangy had a plastic bag placed over his head and was suffocated while handcuffed between two tables with water poured over his face.
Then Hawks officer Deena Govender later entered the room with Mkhwanazi.
“I was told to undress by the provincial commissioner until I was naked. I was instructed to squat before my co-accused’s private part,” Mlotshwa remarked.
Watch ad hoc committee below:
He alleged that Mkhwanazi actively participated in the torture and remained at the scene for around 30 minutes.
“He even told me I should have committed suicide rather than coming to KZN.”
The former officer also claimed he was subjected to waterboarding during the ordeal, which lasted hours after Mkhwanazi left.
He stated that the cellphone records of those involved would demonstrate that they were together in the same vicinity on that day and would also verify the farm’s location.
A year without pay
Following the incident, Mlotshwa and Nangy asked that they be transferred back to Westville Prison over KwaDukuza Police Station so they could receive medical treatment.
He remained in custody for several court appearances before the charges against him were withdrawn on 22 January 2025.
Mlotshwa told MPs he believes the case was deliberately delayed to keep him in detention.
He further indicated that he was suspended following the withdrawal of the charges.
READ MORE: Retired Saps official tells ad hoc committee she was suspended for investigating senior officers
The police officer confirmed the suspension remains in place and his employment status is still uncertain.
“It’s been 12 months without a salary. I don’t know where I stand,” he told MPs.
Mlotshwa added that the experience had severely affected his mental health, requiring psychiatric treatment.
His medical aid also was cancelled, forcing him to cover medical expenses himself.
‘Gates of prison’
The former officer also criticised National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola, claiming he had not taken disciplinary action against Mkhwanazi despite the serious allegations.
According to Mlotshwa, Masemola has initiated disciplinary processes against several other officers allegedly linked to the case, including Govender, KZN Hawks head Lesetja Senona, Saps anti-kidnapping unit head Ismael Dawood, and Hawks officer Azile Enoch. However, Mkhwanazi has not faced similar action.
“Not only was General Masemola before the gates of prison, but so was Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi due to his direct participation in the torture, rendition, arson and defeating the ends of justice,” he said.
Mlotshwa also cited evidence given by tenderpreneur Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, who told the committee that he met Mkhwanazi at The Pearls of Umhlanga in April 2025.
Matlala had alleged that during the meeting Mkhwanazi asked him to convince Mlotshwa to drop the torture case being investigated by Ipid in exchange for help with the businessman’s R360 million police tender.
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