Security strategist Andy Mashaile has thrown his weight behind the appointment of former South African Revenue Service Commissioner Edward Kieswetter to lead a new police advisory panel, arguing that his lack of traditional policing experience makes him the ideal candidate to stabilise and restore trust in the South African Police Service.
The advisory panel was announced by Police Minister Professor Firoz Cachalia during a briefing where he released quarterly crime statistics, describing it as a “police reset agenda.”
Mashaile acknowledged that Kieswetter “does not have what it takes in terms of the operational boots on the ground experience” and has “never been a police officer.” However, he argued this is precisely why the appointment makes sense.
“You don’t want to have a police official speaking the reset language because it will either be biased or forming part of the factional dynamics institutionally,” Mashaile said. “So you want an outsider on the inside. An outsider would be a Kieswetter within government spaces, having had proved himself beyond reasonable doubt that he can stabilise.”
Mashaile pointed to Kieswetter’s track record at SARS, where he successfully restored credibility following the “many years of mess up.” He described the appointment as “a symbolic move for declaring institutional warfare against corruption, state capture, procurement capture and the decay in the SAPS.”
The security strategist drew parallels between the capture of SARS and what he sees happening within law enforcement. “Yes, we have seen state capture. We have seen criminals having captured SAPS, some of the law enforcement officers becoming indistinguishable between the outside criminals and the inside criminals.”
Mashaile cited specific areas requiring immediate attention, including the procurement system. He pointed to a R360 million tender and a R228 million tender that he said was “fraudulently handed out.” He also raised concerns about dockets that disappear, describing instances where dockets were found “in a Wendy house” and cases where individuals impersonated investigating officers to access case files.
He noted that even before the final report of the Madlanga Commission, “there are steps that must be taken to ensure that the procurement space is taken control of — that’s where you now need the expertise of people like Mr Kieswetter.”
Mashaile suggested a broader reform framework involving key figures, including those at the NPA and what he called “the hurricane general” at the SIU. “That tripartite triangle speaks what people want — confidence in the system,” he said. He proposed adding the Madlanga Commission to create “a never-ending spin of trust that’s being rebuilt in the police and the criminal justice system.”
He also praised the Political Killings Task Team model as something worth implementing nationally, describing it as “intelligence-driven,” “well-resourced,” and “highly mobile” with necessary digital expertise. “The statement you delete, we retrieve,” he said.
Mashaile expressed hope that the advisory panel’s recommendations would not simply be filed away. “We hope there will be a turnaround. Government will listen — the minister, the president and all within the criminal justice system.”