Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia wants Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi to run the Hawks at national level. He has taken the idea to Cabinet, and ministers now have to decide whether they agree.
The news broke on Thursday, 29 October 2026. It’s one of the biggest police leadership moves we’ve seen since the Madlanga Commission started its work.
What the minister has done
Cachalia has sent a Cabinet memorandum asking for approval of Mkhwanazi’s appointment. The Hawks, formally called the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), deal with the country’s most serious crimes. Think organised crime and corruption.
The process is easy enough to follow. Section 17CA of the Act says the police minister appoints the national head of the Hawks, but Cabinet has to agree first. So the minister chooses, and Cabinet confirms.
Reports say the memorandum should reach Cabinet at the first opportunity. Nobody has confirmed a date yet.
Cachalia says this is a priority under his Police Reset Agenda. In his words, a national head matters because the unit needs strong leadership, a clear direction and the ability to get results on the ground.
A day earlier, he told an interviewer that the Hawks would have a new boss within days. Looking back, that comment makes a lot more sense now.
Who is Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi?
Mkhwanazi is the KwaZulu Natal police commissioner, or KZN commissioner for short. He has been in that seat since 2018, and reports say his contract was renewed earlier this year for another five years.
His career has been long. He once commanded the Special Task Force, an elite police unit. Around 2011, he also served as acting National Police Commissioner.
Most South Africans only got to know his name in July 2025. On 6 July, he stood in front of the media in Durban and said that senior political figures and police officers were interfering in investigations and working with criminals. He named then Police Minister Senzo Mchunu in those claims.
The president moved fast. Mchunu was placed on special leave, and the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry was set up to look into everything. Mchunu has denied the allegations. Cachalia then stepped in as acting minister.
A surprising turn after his earlier words
Here’s where the story gets interesting. Back in early 2025, Mkhwanazi told Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police that he would never apply for the top Hawks job. He said he’d rather stay close to the action, finish his contract and then go home and rest.
National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola later told Parliament the same thing, that Mkhwanazi had no interest in the post. At the time, the Hawks job was being linked to a dispute with former deputy national commissioner Shadrack Sibiya.
Things look different now. It’s the minister who is pushing his name forward. Nothing in the reports says Mkhwanazi asked for the job himself, and we haven’t seen a clear response from him yet.
Key facts at a glance
| Detail | What we know |
|---|---|
| Who is proposing him | Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia |
| Post | National head of the Hawks (DPCI) |
| Who must agree | Cabinet |
| Current post | KZN police commissioner since 2018 |
| Earlier role | Acting National Police Commissioner around 2011 |
| Status | Memorandum submitted, awaiting Cabinet |
Why this matters to ordinary South Africans
A lot of people see the Hawks as something far removed from daily life. It really isn’t. The unit goes after crimes that hit ordinary households. Corruption eats up money meant for schools, clinics and roads. Organised crime brings extortion, drugs and violence into our neighbourhoods.
A strong leader can change how fast and how well cases move. When officers and the public trust the person at the top, investigations tend to go further. When leadership is shaky, cases can sit for years.
That’s why the timing counts. The police service has been through a rough patch. The Madlanga Commission has heard serious claims about political interference, officers working with criminals, and trouble inside Crime Intelligence. Cachalia says he wants to turn this crisis into a chance for real reform.
The wider police reset plan
The minister has spoken about several goals. He wants to depoliticise the police so senior officers stop chasing political favour to get promoted. He also wants to rebuild Crime Intelligence and tidy up procurement inside the service.
One early idea is to bring independent outside experts onto the panels that pick provincial police commissioners. That could make the process fairer and more open.
He has also talked about using money taken from criminals to fund the fight against organised crime, mentioning around R1 billion in recovered assets. His message was simple. Strip criminals of what they’ve gained, then use it against them.
What happens next
Everything now depends on Cabinet. If ministers agree, the appointment can go ahead. If they don’t, the process could slow down or take a different turn. No decision has been announced, so nothing is final.
Over the next few days, it’ll be worth watching how Cabinet responds and whether Mkhwanazi says anything publicly. Opposition parties and the public will also have their say. And of course, we’ll see whether the minister’s promise of a new Hawks head “in days” actually holds.
If Cabinet agrees, Mkhwanazi would move from provincial policing to leading the country’s top investigative unit. That’s a big jump, for him and for the Hawks.
What this could mean for the Hawks
Supporters will probably say he has shown he’s willing to speak up and take on powerful people. They may argue that’s exactly the courage the Hawks need right now.
Others might see it differently. Some could ask whether someone so deeply involved in a public political fight is the right fit for a unit that must look independent. Others may point back to his earlier comments about not wanting the job. These are fair questions, and debates like this are normal whenever a high profile appointment is on the table.
For now, the simple version is this. The acting police minister wants him in the role, and Cabinet must now decide.
Where to find official information
If you’d like to follow the process yourself, you can check announcements from the South African Police Service and the South African Government website. Cabinet statements are usually posted there after meetings, so it’s easy to confirm what has really been decided.
Final word
Putting Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi at the head of the Hawks would be a bold move at a sensitive time. It follows a long and painful public debate about corruption and political influence in policing.
The key question is whether Cabinet says yes. Until then, this is only a proposal and not a done deal. We’ll keep following the story as more details come in.
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