ANC MP Soviet Lekganyane was elected uncontested on Tuesday.
Opposition parties have expressed dissatisfaction over the election of an ANC member as chairperson of parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s allegations of police corruption.
The committee will run independently of the judicial commission of inquiry, which is also set to investigate Mkhwanazi’s claims.
The commission will be chaired by former acting deputy chief justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga.
Concerns over Mkhwanazi ad hoc committee chair’s affiliation
During the committee’s first meeting on Tuesday, ANC MP Soviet Lekganyane was elected uncontested after Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema declined his nomination to chair the committee.
However, opposition MPs from ActionSA, the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, and the EFF later voiced concerns about Lekganyane’s election.
ActionSA MP Dereleen James argued that the position should have been assigned to someone from a party not linked to the allegations, pointing to the involvement of ANC member and Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, who is on currently special leave.
“How do we garner public trust when we have a chairperson that has been elected from the very party where most of these people are embroiled in,” she said.
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EFF MP Leigh‐Ann Mathys shared similar sentiments.
“We did release a statement as the EFF last night, actually calling on political parties that are represented in the GNU [government of national unity] to abstain from putting forward a chairperson from those parties,” she said.
MK party MP Sibonelo Nomvalo contended that the concern was legitimate.
“We want to run a credible process here which is free from party politics,” Nomvalo said.
Another MK party member, David Skosana, emphasised the matter wasn’t personal.
“The issue is that we have missed an opportunity here; it’s a fact.”
ANC MP Thokozile Sokanyile defended the process, arguing that any objections should have been raised earlier.
Watch the meeting below:
‘Cheap political points’
ANC member Khusela Sangoni Diko also criticised the objections, suggesting that the MPs raising complaints were being populist and attempting to score “cheap political points”.
“I think that as members, we should conduct ourselves in [a proper] manner and not come here to defend statements that are made with the intention of garnering attention for cameras,” she said.
Patriotic Alliance (PA) MP Ashley Sauls reminded members that Lekganyane’s election was unopposed.
“There was a democratic process here,” Sauls said.
ANC Chief Whip Mdumiseni Ntuli also came to Lekganyane’s defence, while the chairperson urged MPs not to cast aspersions on his integrity.
“I was not sworn in here through the law of the ANC. There is only one law which we use to swear in members of parliament; that is the law of the republic.”
Ad hoc committee logistics under scrutiny
Earlier in the meeting, Lekganyane informed MPs that the ad hoc committee would require guidance from parliament’s legal services to establish its terms of reference.
“The sooner they conclude that we must get into the next meeting and adopt those terms of reference.”
Skosana requested clarity on when the committee’s work would commence and proposed that the terms of reference be completed by Friday.
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Ntuli supported the proposal, highlighting that the Madlanga commission could begin its work within the next week or two.
He also suggested securing a venue in Gauteng for logistical convenience.
“It’s easy to travel to Gauteng for all of us, irrespective of where you come from, because of the flights in the country.”
Three-month deadline
Ntuli also pointed out that overlapping timelines between the committee and the commission could impact witness availability, and reiterated that the committee needed to conclude its work by 31 October.
“If we agree, we might have to say in the month of August, we work from Gauteng, and then we come back to Cape Town, maybe when Parliament reopens on the 4th or 5th of September.”
Lekganyane said a venue in Gauteng might be necessary beyond August.
“If the commission that has been appointed by the executive does its work in Gauteng, and we also have sessions that we must run, we may have problems with the availability of people who may want to come present or the witnesses.
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“So even beyond that, we may have to look at where we do our work so that we don’t have unnecessary delays.”
However, Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) MP Wouter Wessels warned against the suggestion.
“When Parliament resumes, I think we should try our best to meet in Cape Town because it is going to be difficult for members who has other responsibilities in committees if we continue to meet in Gauteng,” Wessels said.
‘A very separate process’
Mathys proposed that political parties submit written inputs for the first draft of the committee’s terms and also cautioned against working in parallel with the judicial commission.
“We must be very carefully guided that this is a very separate process and we are not relying on the commission of inquiry to be able to get our witnesses.
“Let’s not put ourselves on the back burner when we’ve just started,” the EFF MP said.
Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Ian Cameron further agreed.
“I don’t think we must allow for the commission to dictate the way we do our work.
“Obviously, we should not clash, and we should be able to work in a way of complimenting each other,” Cameron said.
While Cameron raised concerns that funding for the venue was limited, Malema proposed using a free space, such as a community hall or council chamber, to hold the sittings and avoid incurring costs.
“I even encourage the commission to do the same to go and look for a venue that is available for such work because we must not cost our people a lot of money.”
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