The EFF leader criticised MPs for complaining the witness list was too long.
The parliamentary ad hoc committee probing KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s allegations has finalised its initial list of witnesses ahead of its first sitting next week.
MPs met on Friday to confirm who will testify before the committee, which will begin public hearings on 7 October, with Mkhwanazi as the first witness.
National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola, suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia, and his deputies Polly Boshielo and Cassel Mathale are among those scheduled to appear.
This week, 13 additional potential witnesses were added.
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The list includes Mchunu’s chief of staff Cedric Nkabinde, President Cyril Ramaphosa and Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo.
It also names former Hawks boss Godfrey Lebeya, former police minister Nathi Mthethwa and former national police commissioner Khehla Sithole.
DA MP Dianne Kohler-Barnard and National Coloured Congress (NCC) leader Fadiel Adams are also on the list.
Most of these individuals were mentioned by Mkhwanazi during his testimony before the Madlanga commission last week.
Mkhwanazi ad hoc committee: More names proposed
During Friday’s meeting, MPs suggested further names.
MK Party’s David Skosana proposed his wife, former public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane, and Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) officer Brian Padayachee.
DA MP Ian Cameron put forward Cape Town Safety and Security MMC JP Smith and former Crime Intelligence head Peter Jacobs.
EFF leader Julius Malema listed International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola, Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie, Deputy National Police Commissioner for Policing Tebello Mosikili, Crime Intelligence official Feroz Khan, IDAC head Andrea Johnson, DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach, and members of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police (including Cameron, the committee’s chairperson).
Malema highlighted accusations that the police committee ignored Mkhwanazi’s allegations.
READ MORE: Parliament failed in its duties by ‘ignoring’ Mkhwanazi’s allegations, Madlanga commission hears
Mkhwanazi previously raised claims about Mchunu’s alleged association with North West businessman Oupa “Brown” Mogotsi — said to be linked to underworld figures — during a virtual meeting on 5 March.
Mchunu denied any association, referring to Mogotsi as “some fellow” before later describing him as a “comrade” in July, after Mkhwanazi went public with allegations that prompted the establishment of both the ad hoc committee and the Madlanga commission.
“That committee is actually being accused of not having anything when they were told of these serious allegations, and by implication it means that Parliament, even when it was informed of these activities, did nothing.
“So, we want members of the committee to share some light with regard to that,” Malema said.
Watch the meeting below:
ANC cautions against ‘temptation’
During deliberations, ANC chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli warned against the committee straying from its terms of reference when deciding which witnesses to call.
Ntuli said the committee should resist the “temptation” of enlisting “a long list of people”, noting that adding names before Mkhwanazi testifies would be “an exercise in futility”.
“We are raising this matter because now we have 34 names, never mind how long will it take us to go through these names.
“But we are of the view that we are not in a better position firmly to determine whether or not these names are actually required for us to discharge our responsibility,” the ANC chief whip said on Friday.
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He stressed that while the committee and the Madlanga commission’s work should complement each other, the parliamentary process was not a “sub-committee” of the judicial inquiry.
“So the two of us are not supposed to contest one another; even the scope of our terms of reference are not the same.”
Ntuli proposed “parking” the additional names until Mkhwanazi testifies to assess who is relevant.
“The moment we say we’re confirming this list, it becomes a direct mandate to our legal team that, therefore, immediately after this meeting is adjourned, they must start making contact with all of those names in order to prepare all that has to be prepared for anyone who appears as a witness before the ad hoc committee.
“Our firm proposal as the ANC is that let’s not go that way.”
Malema slams MPs
Cameron supported Ntuli’s point, saying the committee must focus on its mandate.
“We must also remember that the list isn’t finite.
“It’s not something that needs to be set in stone now because things may come up during the testimonies of different individuals that may lead the committee to decide to invite someone else,” he said.
EFF MP Leigh-Ann Mathys suggested that the committee allow its legal team to conduct preliminary consultations with witnesses and evaluate their evidence to determine which individuals should be called in line with the terms of reference.
“The reason we are here today is because our evidence leaders have told us that they have exhausted the initial list, and they wanted to have a list of people they can start consulting with,” she said.
READ MORE: Madlanga commission: Mkhwanazi pulls no punches, says Mchunu involved with criminals
Malema criticised MPs for complaining the list was too long, warning the committee cannot “start on a point of laziness”.
“The rot [in the criminal justice system] is so deep that the list is expected to be beyond what we have presented,” he said.
He added that witness testimony time could be limited.
The EFF leader further argued that the additional list appeared to be sidelined because it included Ramaphosa, suggesting that the committee was trying to protect the president from accountability following his implication relating to the disbandment of the political killings task team.
“I know central to what you are suggesting is that the president must not appear before us… and you are just ashamed to go straight about it.
“It’s wrong; the president is not above the constitution,” Malema said.
‘More names may be added’
Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) MP Mangaqa Mncwango said he believed the committee was developing a provisional list but supported Ntuli’s proposal while acknowledging the EFF’s points.
Patriotic Alliance (PA) MP Ashley Sauls disagreed with Malema, saying the committee would not follow the Madlanga commission’s approach.
ActionSA MP Dereleen James backed the EFF’s proposal.
“We cannot possibly park a list,” James said.
Ad hoc committee chairperson Soviet Molapi Lekganyane concluded that the list of additional names would be “noted” to allow Mkhwanazi to testify first.
“More names may be added,” Lekganyane said.
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