The law professor tasked with leading an allegedly ‘captured’ ministry

South Africa’s new acting police minister, Professor Firoz Cachalia, has had an extensive career in the public service, dating back to the beginning of the country’s democracy.

He has occupied various positions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, served as a law professor at one of the country’s top universities, and chaired the National Anti-Corruption Committee.

Currently 66, Cachalia was born in Benoni in 1958. He attended the University of Witwatersrand (Wits) and graduated with a BA, BA Honours, and an LLB degree.

He was particularly active in the anti-apartheid struggle during his youth, with his activism resulting in him and his brother, Azhar, being arrested several times.

On one occasion in 1978, he and Azhar were arrested for distributing pamphlets commemorating the 1976 Soweto student uprising. 

According to South African History Online, the two were assaulted and tortured while detained.

Firoz and Azhar were again arrested in 1981 for political activities, this time being detained for three weeks.

Under the Internal Security Act, the two were barred from participating in any organisations, being in the presence of more than two people at any one time, and communicating with other banned individuals.

This also meant that despite living in the same house, both had to obtain special permission to communicate with each other.

Cachalia joined the United Democratic Front, and eventually represented the Transvaal Indian Congress at CODESA (Convention for a Democratic South Africa) 1 and 2, held in 1991 and 1992.

He also went on to help draft some of the early versions of the country’s democratic Constitutional Principles.  

In the early 1990s, Cachalia worked for the law firm Bell Dewar and Hall for two years, followed by a stint as a researcher at the Centre for Applied Legal Studies.

At the end of the decade, he earned a first class pass from the University of Michigan for his Masters degree in law.

Entering the public service

At the dawn of South Africa’s democracy in 1994, Cachalia entered the public service as a member of the ANC in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.

Over the following decade, he held positions which included leader of the house, speaker, and chair of various committees.

After the 2004 elections, he was appointed by then-Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa as a member of the executive committee (MEC) for Community and Safety.

Security Association of South Africa (SASA) Gauteng president Jack Edery commended Cachalia on a “thorough and multifaceted approach in combating crime.”

However, following the 2009 elections, he was handed the Economic Development portfolio, a position he held for a year before being sacked following a cabinet reshuffle by newly-elected premier Nomvula Mokonyane the following year.

After leaving the provincial government, he became a professor of law at his alma mater, Wits University, where he would remain until 2025.

While lecturing at Wits, former President Jacob Zuma appointed Cachalia a non-executive director of the board of the South African Reserve Bank in 2012.

In 2022, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed him chairperson of the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council, which was founded to advise the President on implementing the anti-corruption strategy.

Fast-forward to August 2025, and he has just been sworn in as the acting minister of police after Ramaphosa announced that Senzo Mchunu would be placed on garden leave.

This stemmed from damning allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi at the beginning of July, implicating Mchunu.

These allegations include a captured criminal justice system colluding with criminal syndicates and interfering with work done by the South African Police Service by disbanding the Political Killings Task Team.

Cachalia said that the appointment is reminiscent of when he joined the Gauteng legislature in 1994, as he has never put himself forward for a public service position.

“Even when I entered the Gauteng legislature, I was overseas, and someone asked me if I could be placed on the list. I didn’t campaign, lobby, or request it, I just said yes,” he told IOL.

“Many of my life’s activities were shaped by the struggle and the question of how we rebuild the country. So when opportunities like this come my way, I tackle them wholeheartedly.”

As for the way forward, Cachalia says he is aware of the challenge ahead but is committed to “tackling the task without fear or favour.”

Speaking to the media after being sworn in, he said that he is now in a better position to take the recommendations of the National Anti-Corruption Council forward.

Cachalia added that he would ask national police commissioner Fannie Masemola to arrange a sitting between the council and police management.

He said that he also plans to work closely with justice minister Mmamoloko Kubayi as the council’s recommendations affect both their portfolios.