‘There’s a plan to take my life’: The secrets Lt-Gen Mfazi took to his grave
A murder investigation has been launched into the 2021 death of South African police official Lt-Gen Sindile Mfazi, who his widow claims was poisoned. Newly discovered personal documents suggest Mfazi feared for his life and believed he was being targeted by colleagues.
Why it matters
The case exposes potential deep-seated corruption and criminal activity within the upper echelons of the South African Police Service.
Lt-Gen Sindile “Pitso” Mfazi knew he was a hunted man.
On December 10 2020, at 18.33, the deputy national commissioner for crime detection meticulously noted in his diary a chilling “intel call” from an unregistered number. The caller, claiming to be from the anti-gang unit, warned Mfazi of an active plot to assassinate him.
Seven months later he was dead, and the South African Police Service (SAPS) was quick to conclude he had died from Covid-19 complications.
His widow, Lindelwa “Malindi” Mfazi, never believed it. She insisted he had been murdered and that SAPS members were implicated in a cover-up.
Just 10 days after Mfazi’s burial, Lindelwa had the body exhumed after talking to national police commissioner Khehla Sitole, and toxicology tests established the presence of a poisonous substance.
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