JOHANNESBURG - Suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has cost taxpayers about R2.69 million in salary during his year-long special leave.
This while the state has also continued funding his ministerial benefits and the salary of his replacement.
Despite performing no ministerial duties over the past 12 months, Mchunu continues to receive his annual ministerial salary of about R2.69 million, roughly R224,166.67 a month, following a 3.8 percent increase that took effect in April 2026.
President Cyril Ramaphosa placed Mchunu on special leave in July last year after KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi alleged that he had interfered in criminal investigations and enabled corrupt syndicates to flourish within law enforcement.
Professor Feroz Cachalia has since taken over the police ministry. Although Cachalia's salary has not been disclosed, it has been reported that he is also earning the full salary of a Cabinet minister.
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Ramaphosa initially gave the Madlanga Commission six months to complete its work, with a deadline of 31 March 2026, but its term has since been extended to 16 November 2026.
In February, Ramaphosa said he would await the commission's findings before deciding Mchunu's future.
This week, presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said that position remained unchanged.
"The President has communicated several times on this issue and that position remains. I'm not going to regurgitate the same issue," Magwenya told eNCA.
Neither the Madlanga Commission nor Parliament's parallel ad hoc committee has made any public findings against Mchunu.
While Mchunu remains on special leave, it is unclear whether all of his ministerial benefits continue.
Under the 2019 Ministerial Handbook, Cabinet ministers are ordinarily entitled to a state-owned residence, a government vehicle worth up to R1.1 million, up to 20 free personal flights a year.
READ | Mchunu denies coercing Witness E to lie to Madlanga Commission
Under the 2019 Ministerial Handbook ministers are also entitled to a driver, bodyguards, housekeeping services, five-star accommodation on official overseas trips, a fully paid cellphone bill, a TV subscription and six domestic flights a year for each minor child.
Corruption Watch's Janine Erasmus called the arrangement "an absolute outrage", saying prolonged paid suspensions reflected a lack of political will to hold public officials accountable.
"This sends yet another weak signal to the public on consequence management in government, and enforces the perception that proximity to political power can buy one time when asked to be accountable."
OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage said while Ramaphosa was entitled to place Mchunu on special leave, the matter should have been resolved long ago.
"It shouldn't take a year. He has the power to hire and fire his Cabinet and there is enough before him to have made a decision by now," Duvenage said.
Opposition parties have also criticised Mchunu's continued paid leave. In a letter to Ramaphosa on 10 July, DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis said taxpayers were paying both Mchunu and his replacement.
Hill-Lewis said:
"The suspended minister still earns more than R2.6 million a year while sitting at home. That is enough money to employ eight full-time detectives."
Build One South Africa (BOSA) also described Mchunu's continued paid leave as an abuse of state resources.
"We find it very disappointing and astonishing that Mchunu is still on suspension at the expense of the tax payers.
"It is having an effect because we don't have a single focused minister in place," Bosa's Roger Solomons said.
Key allegations against Mchunu:
- Disbanding the PKTT: Mchunu is heavily scrutinised for his controversial New Year’s Eve 2024 directive to unilaterally dissolve the Political Killings Task Team. While Mchunu argued the team faced complaints of torture and overreach, this move drew severe criticism from evidence leaders and observers.
- Association with Cartels: The Commission and Parliament's ad hoc committee investigated claims connecting Mchunu to alleged criminal cartel boss Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
- Witness Coercion: An undercover officer (Witness E) testified that Mchunu persistently contacted him to submit a false statement favoring the minister, which would discredit the Political Killings Task Team. Mchunu has categorically denied these claims.