By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@GalloImages.
The Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) party leader Jacob Zuma has told President Cyril Ramaphosa to resign or face legal action over alleged constitutional breaches.
In a letter dated August 4, Zuma said he will take action against Ramaphosa if he fails to adhere to the demand.
Zuma sent a litany of questions to Ramaphosa over the appointment of a new police minister.
Ramaphosa placed Senzo Mchunu on a leave of absence with immediate effect and appointed an acting police minister.
Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, KwaZulu-Natal’s provincial police commissioner, accused Mchunu of having ties to criminal gangs and interfered in investigations into politically motivated murders.
The letter from KMNS attorneys, who act on behalf of Zuma, comes after the Constitutional Court last week dismissed the MK Party’s application to have a direct access to challenge Ramaphosa’s decision to place Senzo Mchunu on a leave of absence, appointing Firoz Cachalia as acting police minister.
“As a result, our client has or sought urgent advice on possibly taking the relevant dispute(s) to the High Court and/or any other appropriate forum. It is assumed that you stand by the reasons previously given for the decisions announced on 13 July 2025,” reads the letter.
Zuma also wanted to know what is the public benefit in having two ministers of police, adding that one is active, while the other one is on leave.
He said irrespective of the answers Ramaphosa might give, his conduct to place Mchunu on leave and appoint Cachalia remain illegal, irrational and unconstitutional.
The deadline for these demands is 10:00 AM on Friday, 8 August.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya acknowledged receiving the letter but kept the response minimal, saying only, “The legal team will deal with it.”
Meanwhile the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) delegation met with Mkhwanazi in Durban.
The head of the delegation Mzamo Billy, says their meeting with Mkhwanazi was fruitful.
Members of the NCOP met with Mkhwanazi at the SAPS headquarters in Durban on Monday morning.
”The commissioner was in great spirits; he embraced our visit. He understood the intention of the meeting. We all agreed that there were challenges,” said Billy.
Billy says the talks with Nhlanhla Mkwanazi in Durban focused on policing challenges in KZN.
”And what came up strongly is the issue of capacity and resourcing of the police, which lacks quite significantly. There are not enough police personnel in the province. Out of a population of 12 and a half million people in the province, you have only got, just about 23,000 policemen and women.
“Vehicles, most of them are in repairs, there’s a huge challenge with fixing those because procurement has got to go through Pretoria. The police not having its own headquarters, you know, they’re renting the building that we were in this morning.”