Durban - A high-ranking metro police official tasked with protecting eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede fears for her safety.
Sbonelo Mchunu, an acting senior superintendent, metro police spokesman and head of the VIP protection services, in an e-mail sent to Deputy Mayor Fawzia Peer said he believed the mayor’s security detail was being “deliberately” weakened by metro police boss Eugene Nzama.
Nzama told the Sunday Tribune that he was aware of the e-mail but could not comment. He referred questions to Nhlanhla Mthethwa, head of logistics at metro police, who said he was busy and could not comment at the time of publication.
Mchunu confirmed that he sent the e-mail but would not be drawn to comment further.
In the e-mail, which the Sunday Tribune has seen, Mchunu claims that “political interference” is the reason why Gumede was being made “vulnerable” each time she was at an official engagement.
Security details for the mayor vary according to the “risk” each of appointment presents.
However, former city manager Mike Sutcliffe urged the media to be careful when allegations such as Mchunu’s surfaced because he believed there were individuals inside and out of the municipality who wanted to make mischief.
Mchunu outlined in detail why he had a “bad feeling” about the mayor’s safety, and feared that she might be “targeted for assassination”.
In the e-mail, Mchunu alleges that Nzama has been interfering with Gumede’s security detail from when she chaired the city’s health, safety and social services committee.
It is alleged in the e-mail that Nzama told a meeting of metro police directors recently that Gumede would be “removed from office”, in the new year.
Mchunu said his “restlessness” over Gumede’s safety stemmed from the fact that certain councillors had been assassinated after their assigned security personnel were removed on what he called “frivolous grounds”.
He listed councillors Wiseman Mshibe, Sbu Shezi and the ANC’s regional secretary, Sibusiso Sibiya, as leaders who were murdered after their security details were tampered with.
“It is therefore clear that if a leader is targeted for assassination, the first thing that gets done is to interfere with the security system and the murder is carried out thereafter.
“Mr Nzama has on numerous occasions tried to interfere with security of Mayor Gumede,” reads an extract from Mchunu’s e-mail.
Mchunu claimed that Nzama victimised people providing security to certain city officials by refusing to provide resources and deprive security officers of the required infrastructure to perform their duties.
“Officers that are doing security duty have become victims of his authority and he uses transfers, disciplinary action and promotions to manipulate them.”
Nzama used disciplinary procedures to deal with certain officers, but not against officers who are aligned to him, Mchunu claimed.
To ensure the mayor had adequate protection, Mchunu said he had to “bite the bullet and confront Nzama in many instances”, which made relations between him and Nzama “so bad that it is virtually impossible for us to work smoothly together”.
Mchunu said he had been raising his security concerns with the municipality’s leadership for years, but his complaints were hampered by “political shenanigans caused by political factions”.
“The divisions in the city’s leadership is the source of Nzama’s strength, because those who were opposed to Gumede would assist him to avoid being reigned in.”
The political faction fighting within the city circles came to a head when Gumede contested the leadership of the ANC’s eThekwini Region, which is the party’s biggest region in the country.
Her predecessor, James Nxumalo, held that position and was determined to retain the hot seat.
After four failed elective conferences and an unsuccessful high court bid by Nxumalo to stop the election process, Gumede eventually became chairwoman of the ANC in eThekwini in December 2015.
Mchunu claimed Nzama was a Nxumalo backer, and he protected and favoured people who were also aligned to that faction.
When approached for comment about the allegations made in Mchunu’s e-mail, eThekwini’s deputy head of communications Mandla Nsele was guarded.
“This is an internal security matter and due to its sensitivity, the municipality does not discuss security plans in a public platform,” he said.
Sutcliffe was replaced by Sbu Sithole in January 2012.
Even though Gumede was not authorised to do so, she asked Sithole to leave his position two weeks ago, before the end of his five-year contract yesterday.
Sithole intends to reapply for the position.
“It makes me mad when allegations such as these are made. It can be very damaging,” Sutcliffe said .
He said when he was in office he never got involved with security issues because it was not something for admin people to handle.
“The head of metro police was also never involved with security for councillors. This was usually handled by the office of the municipal speaker, who would work with the head of security and intelligence on such matters.
“The head of security would then advise me on what would happen after the relevant risk profiles were done.”
Attempts to contact, Gumede and Nxumalo were unsuccessful.