Inspector General Imtiaz Fazel's explosive affidavit reveals a troubling power dynamic orchestrated by sidelined police minister Senzo Mchunu, highlighting serious challenges to oversight within South Africa's intelligence framework.

An explosive high court application by suspended Inspector General of Intelligence (IGI) Imtiaz Fazel confirms how central former police minister Senzo Mchunu's office was to the series of investigations and leaks that led both to the Madlanga Commission and to the unprocedural and likely unconstitutional suspension of the IGI.

Fazel is challenging the withdrawal of his security clearance and his subsequent suspension by President Cyril Ramaphosa. See Fazel's full affidavit here, including a highly revealing letter to Ramaphosa dated 1 October 2025, just two weeks before the IGI was suspended. The President and the other respondents are still to file their answer.

Fazel's evidence strongly suggests that the State Security Agency (SSA), Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni and Ramaphosa himself relied on a desperately flimsy case in order to sideline the IGI.

The crucial question is, why?

While Fazel reveals that the IGI faced systematic resistance from all three intelligence services -- the State Security Agency (SSA), Defence Intelligence and police Crime Intelligence -- to the disclosure and oversight mandated by law, his evidence and the sequence of events suggest that his real troubles began when, in early January 2025, Minister Mchunu directed him to investigate a set...