Audio evidence implicates Senzo Mchunu in coercive tactics at the Madlanga Commission

Suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu is now embroiled in fresh allegations that could have serious implications for his political future.

Testimony from Witness E at the Madlanga Commission reveals that Mchunu allegedly attempted to coach him into lying under oath, a claim substantiated by an audio recording presented as evidence.

Witness E, an undercover police officer, testified on Monday that Mchunu sought to manipulate evidence to falsely implicate Crime Intelligence head Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo, striking at the heart of the commission’s mandate to uncover political interference in the justice system.

The recording, captured during a direct phone call, places Mchunu at the centre of an alleged attempt to subvert the commission’s work.

According to Witness E, the call was not meant to be recorded but was automatically saved by the Truecaller application on his phone.

He said Mchunu avoided WhatsApp and instead phoned him directly, which the witness interpreted as a sign of desperation.

In the audio, Mchunu can be heard discussing a statement he wanted Witness E to submit to the commission — a version of events the witness described as fabricated.

The statement would have accused Lt-Gen Khumalo of failing to properly investigate crime intelligence officials allegedly linked to the 2017 murder of former ANC Youth League secretary Sindiso Magaqa.

Under questioning from co-commissioner Adv. Sandile Khumalo, Witness E confirmed that the proposed statement would have been false.

“So he was encouraging you to lie to this commission?” Khumalo asked.

“I believe so,” Witness E replied.

Witness E further testified that Mchunu allegedly deployed his political and legal machinery to advance the false narrative.

He told the commission that Mchunu’s spokesperson, Kamogelo Mogotsi, contacted him with instructions on how to testify, while lawyers linked to the minister drafted a statement for Magaqa’s convicted killer, now a state witness.

Mogotsi, Witness E said, informed him that a statement had already been prepared on his behalf relating to the purchase of unlicensed firearms and stolen vehicles used in Magaqa’s assassination.

“Kamogelo Mogotsi informed me there is a statement that they have already been prepared on my behalf,” he said. 

He rejected the approach, insisting that any testimony had to be coordinated through the prosecutor and lead investigator on the case.

Witness E described the minister’s conduct as coercive, saying Mchunu wanted him to testify “in a manner favourable to him”.

He also detailed repeated phone calls from Mchunu after President Cyril Ramaphosa placed the minister on special leave following the KZN police commissioner, Lt-Gen. Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s allegations of criminal infiltration within the police.

During these calls, Mchunu allegedly sought information about supposed victims of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) and about visits to Magaqa’s killer in prison — matters Witness E said he did not know of.

In one exchange conducted in isiZulu, Witness E said he deliberately misled Mchunu, pretending to draft a statement he never intended to submit.

Mchunu instructed him to send it to a certain person before abruptly ending the call.

Meanwhile, Mchunu has repeatedly denied infiltrating the justice system or manipulating the police. The audio evidence now before the Madlanga Commission raises serious questions about those denials

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Cape Argus