Dressed in fatigues and flanked by gun-toting officers, he looked less like a South African policeman than a west African general about to announce a coup.
Arriving at his press conference in July last year, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi made a striking entrance.
Why did Mr Mkhwanazi go public? His supporters say he is an ethical public servant: a cop’s cop who felt the need to save what was left of the South African Police Service (SAPS). Officers who have worked with him call him a straight-shooter and an inspiring leader. But even those who praise Mr Mkhwanazi question his motives. They suggest that his press conference was part of a turf war. Some claim he oversaw extra-judicial killings of suspected criminals, an allegation he denies.
That makes sense. A large majority of South Africans tell pollsters they would swap elected leaders for a strongman who could bring security and jobs. Mr Mkhwanazi, who describes himself as a family man, could meet the latent demand for a conservative political leader who is tough on crime—a South African equivalent to El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele. South Africans will remain interested in him.
For now he says he has no interest in elected politics.
