Mkhwanazi Calls For Tough Penalties Against Journalists Who ‘Push Agendas’

KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, has called for severe punishment for journalists he claims are working with rogue Crime Intelligence officers to manipulate public perception through biased reporting.

Testifying before Parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating police criminality on Wednesday, Mkhwanazi named City Press journalist Abram Mashego among those allegedly involved in publishing stories aimed at discrediting him.

Mkhwanazi criticised Mashego for sending him questions about what he referred to as “a legal stab” by General Shadrack Sibiya — a claim that never materialised. He questioned the journalist’s decision to pursue what he described as “clear misinformation.”

Commissioner Demands Accountability for ‘False Reporting’

During his testimony, Mkhwanazi told committee members that he had taken a screenshot of Mashego’s message to share with a colleague, but that the image was later leaked on social media.

He called on Parliament to introduce measures to hold journalists accountable for publishing inaccurate or misleading stories. “To say that it’s gospel whatever they say — it’s wrong. It cannot be like that,” he told the committee.

Mkhwanazi warned of the dangers of unregulated media freedom, saying that misinformation can have serious consequences for both individuals and institutions. “There has been a lot of pushback indirectly through the journalists, a lot of media stories written,” he added.

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When pressed about whether he believed journalists were intentionally involved in attempts to undermine him, Mkhwanazi said: “Some of those journalists who wrote bad things, they are starting to change their tune, and they start connecting the dots themselves.”

However, he clarified that he was not accusing the entire media industry of wrongdoing, acknowledging that not all journalists were complicit.

Mashego has not yet commented on the allegations. The police commissioner hinted that more revelations could follow, telling the committee: “Some of the secrets will shock you.”

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