Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has been accused of having ties to criminal gangs and of meddling in police investigations into politically motivated murders.
These explosive allegations were made by KwaZulu-Natal police boss Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi at a press briefing on Sunday.
He said Mr Mchunu was receiving financial support from allegedly corrupt figures to fund his "political endeavours".
Mr Mchunu has since denied what he says are "wild allegations" while President Cyril Ramaphosa said they were of "serious national security concern" and "receiving the highest priority attention".
Gen Mkhwanazi detailed a sequence of events he claims led to the "orchestrated" disbandment of a task force set up in 2018 to investigate the killing of politicians in KwaZulu-Natal.
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Among these details are allegations that Mr Mchunu dissolved the team after he began cracking down on "high-profile syndicates", which Gen Mkhwanazi alleged included politicians, police officers, drug cartels and businesspeople.
Gen Mkhwanazi has since confirmed that a criminal investigation had been instituted to act on this "possible infiltration" of law enforcement by these syndicates.
Ramaphosa, in his statement, vowed to act on the issues raised and urged all "parties to this matter... to exercise discipline and restraint" as the "trading of accusations and counter-accusations threatens to undermine public confidence and sow confusion."
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