In Sunday's
live televised speech to the nation, Ramaphosa also announced a judicial
commission would probe the claims, which he said undermined the constitution
and threatened national security.
He added that
law professor Firoz Cachalia had been appointed as interim police minister.
Mchunu denied
any wrongdoing, saying in a statement that he "stood ready to respond to
the accusations" against him.
In his speech,
the president said that the allegations against Mchunu, which include
interference in investigations into political killings and corruption within
law enforcement agencies, "call for an urgent and comprehensive
investigation".
He said the
judicial commission, led by the country's deputy chief justice, would examine
all the claims.
The commission
will also investigate current and former police officials, as well as members
of the national executive, Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa has been under growing public pressure to act swiftly over the high-profile case.
Mchunu, 67, is
an influential figure in Ramaphosa's African National Congress (ANC) party.
Political
analysts have suggested he could run for a leadership position at the ANC's
next elective conference in 2027.
In a statement,
Mchunu said: "I welcome and respect the president's decision and pledge my
commitment to the process.
"Honour
and integrity are the virtues I personally subscribe to and which we all need
to make efforts to uphold."
The allegations
were first made public by KwaZulu-Natal provincial police boss Nhlanhla
Mkhwanazi last Sunday.
He claimed
Mchunu was receiving financial support from an allegedly corrupt businessman to
fund his "political endeavours".
Gen Mkhwanazi
also detailed a sequence of events he claimed led to the
"orchestrated" disbandment of a task force that was set up in 2018 to
investigate the killing of politicians, mainly in KwaZulu-Natal. BBC
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