KZN police commissioner also said life is too comfortable for criminals behind bars
The role of lower-level players in greasing the wheels of corruption has been elaborated on by KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, on day two of parliament’s ad hoc committee.
KZN’s top cop was on Wednesday fielding questions from committee members after making his statement to chief evidence leader Advocate Norman Arendse on Tuesday evening.
Each committee member has been given roughly 30 minutes to pose questions to Mkhwanazi, adjusted for the size of the member’s party representation.
Facilitators of alleged corruption
The first to face Mkhwanazi was chairperson of the justice and constitutional development portfolio committee, Xola Nqola.
He asked about the circumstances surrounding the letter allegedly signed by Police Minister Senzo Mchunu to disband the KZN political killing task team.
Mkhwanazi reiterated that a criminal case to investigate the letter’s origins had been opened, but said he felt the source was someone within a branch of the police.
Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) senior investigator Brian Padayachee was mentioned by Mkhwanazi. But he brushed off Nqola’s question on whether he was the source.
“I would argue that he is not, he is an enabler. He is a pawn in a game. He is the one who is being used.
“As when you are in your house, you have a small dog that is very sensitive to noise, who is going to bark and then you have the real big dog that will tackle an enemy. So that is what Padayachee is,” said Mkhwanazi.
Mkhwanazi said the IDAC senior investigator frequently moved between intelligence officials, magistrates and courts to facilitate negotiations.
“Padayachee, being an ex-crime intelligence member, is given carte blanche to enter from point A to point B in crime intelligence by the courts of this country,” said Mkhwanazi.
Following his analogy, committee chair Molapi Soviet Lekganyane was adamant that the house record that the Lieutenant General did not call Padayachee a dog.
‘This house’ to blame
The MK party’s Mandla Skosana asked Mkhwanazi about the role of magistrates in possible corruption, but Mkhwanazi took aim at parliament itself.
“I said yesterday I am not a lawmaker, but as we are enforcing the law and trying to satisfy the clients out there, we identify gaps in the legislation.
“Gaps, that if we had to be invited to give our input… our inputs in the main, as the police, might be seen a violation of human rights.”
Mkhwanazi acknowledged that laws may have been made by leaders who endured hardships at the hands of an oppressive regime, but he said the system was being abused.
“In so doing, the government made the life of a criminal to be comfortable behind bars. Unfortunately, the law protects the very same perpetrator.
“It is this house that passes the budget for those who committed crime to be fed in prison and live a life of luxury at the expense of the taxpayer.
“Perhaps we might want to employ a different method of deciding on matters of this nature,” Mkhwanazi concluded.
