Police Suspect Senzo Mchunu Handed Over a Substitute Phone During Raid, Minister Denies Claims

Published 12 Nov 2026 at 6:36 PM

by Byron Pillay

3 min read

The investigating officer in the Senzo Mchunu corruption case made startling allegations against the Minister of Police
Mchunu has challenged a September 2026 search warrant in court, insisting he acted in good faith and provided everything required
South Africans weighed in on the allegations against Mchunu, with many questioning why he was still receiving a salary

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Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has spent a decade reporting on South Africa's political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online journalism.

GAUTENG — The police officer leading the investigation into suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and former Deputy National Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya said there are "reasonable grounds" to believe both men handed over substitute devices — rather than the actual phones used during the period under investigation — when searches were conducted at their properties.

Brigadier William Kunene made the assertion in a successful application for a second search-and-seizure warrant, which was executed in September 2026. Mchunu is now challenging the lawfulness of that warrant in court.

Phones switched before raids, investigating officer believes

According to Kunene's affidavit, service-provider records showed telephone numbers being transferred to different handsets shortly before the earlier warrants were executed in 2025. He also noted that Mchunu and Sibiya were absent from their addresses when police arrived, requiring investigators to contact them directly and ask them to surrender their devices.

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Devices that became active just before being handed over showed signs of recent activation and factory resets, Kunene said. The warrant targeted devices belonging to Mchunu, Sibiya, and Mchunu's chief of staff, Cedric Nkabinde.

Kunene said any recovered devices would be preserved using accepted forensic procedures and that their contents could not be examined without authorisation from a further court order.

Mchunu denies any deception

Mchunu has rejected Kunene's claims in court papers, describing them as untrue. He said he had complied fully with all search warrants and acted in good faith throughout the process, adding that he had never attempted to deceive the South African Police Service.

How did South Africans react?

South Africans following the matter on social media were largely sceptical.

@BonganiLaw7 asked:

"Why was the completeness test not performed? As a forensic auditor/digital forensic auditor, or whatever, completeness is important. They were supposed to compare all the devices to the number RICA'd and check every change of SIM card for every device."

@MMKVA799 questioned:

"Why is our tax money still going towards this person's salary?"

@MTVTJO stated:

"They must arrest Mchunu now. Sibiya is already inside."

@Kimchi_Yumiii claimed:

"Just because they didn't find anything, now they are accusing people of handing in the wrong devices."

@ts063_ joked:

"Dribbling the so-called intelligence."

Mchunu's leave costs taxpayers millions

Briefly News also highlighted facts about the R8.89 million cost of Mchunu’s special leave, including his salary, the acting minister’s remuneration and legal fees.