Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has warned South Africans against passing judgement on him without giving him a chance to respond to allegations against him.
KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has accused Mchunu of colluding with a criminal syndicate to interfere in South African Police Service SAPS operations.
Last weekend, President Cyril Ramaphosa placed Mchunu on leave of absence and announced that he would establish a commission of inquiry to probe Mkhwanazis claims.
However, some political parties, including Economic Freedom Fighters and uMkhonto weSizwe Party, have criticised Ramaphosa for not firing the Minister.
Senzo Mchunu ready to respond to allegationsSpeaking to SABC News during an African National Congress Mandela Day event in Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal on Friday 18 July, Mchunu defended the Presidents decision.
"Those allegations were not only against me. They were against a range of other departments, and I would say also the justice system as a whole in the country, he said.
"In South Africa, we will always treasure and insist that you hear one side and after you have heard one side, you then hear the other side.
He added that the day the same person suspects wrongdoing, investigates, finds the wrongdoing, prosecutes, sits as a magistrate and a judge, finds another person guilty, and then passes judgement, that will be the end of South Africa.
"It will crush and destroy the dream that all of us have had for years, struggling for justice in this country. And justice means, among other things, hear the other side. No matter how serious, as in this particular instance, the case is, but hear the other side, Mchunu said.
"I'm sitting here, waiting for the commission. I believe that the President thought things through very well, and I support that.