Matiullah Khan was a warlord with a dark past: a private man running a private militia, 2,400-strong.
He was an introvert who couldn't read or write, but Matiullah Khan was still a powerful figure in southern Afghanistan.
He was also a close ally to Australia.
In 2011, President Hamid Karzai appointed Matiullah Khan as the province's chief of police.
In what is believed to be his first ever television interview, in Tarin Kowt, Karen Middleton asked about allegations of nepotism.
"There won't be any pressure because people already know me -- what kind of person I am -- and they will choose to come and work with me," he said.
Mattiullah Khan's security force, the KAU, or Uruzgan highway patrol, charged coalition forces for protection on the road from Tarin Kowt to Kandahar.
Some accused him of extortion, but he denied the claims.
"No, it's wrong. We don't take money illegally from them. We escort them. We keep security for the," he told SBS.
Some Afghans accused him of past links to the Taliban, but Mattiullah Khan said they have killed his men.
"It's not true," he said. "Some people, mispreach against me. The thing is, I have lost 420 personnel guys this way. If I had any links, I wouldn't have any casualties".
Australian forces in Afghanistan have forged close ties with Matiullah Khan, despite his controversial background before he became police chief.
