‘There was no lie I was telling’ – Nhleko slams Mbalula, says fire pool comments implicate Ramaphosa too

Former police minister Nathi Nhleko says the African National Congress (ANC) or police ministry are not qualified to make determinations on any body of water – including the Nkandla fire pool.

Nhleko was responding to ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula‘s comments at the weekend that members of the ruling party lied and said Nkandla’s swimming pool was a fire pool.

Mbalula said in part: “We formed an ad-hoc committee in parliament on Nkandla and said a swimming pool is a fire pool. Then minister of police was sweating in that committee because kunzima xa uthetha ubuxoki [it’s difficult to defend lies].”

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Mbalula has since received criticism from South Africans and fellow cadres including ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe and now, Nhleko, who has rubbished his sweating comments.

Speaking to Xoli Mngambi on Newzroom Afrika on Wednesday, Nhleko said: “I did not know that Mbalula is now a psycho-analyst, but it’s a terrible suggestion to suggest that because I was sweating, I must have been lying. In fact, that’s what he said.

“There was no lie I was telling, it’s a different case that I was sweating and I wouldn’t want to entertain that rubbish. No story was cooked up.”

Fire pool or swimming pool?

Nhleko said no-one from the ruling party or police ministry made the determination that the body of water at Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla homestead was a fire pool.

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According to Nhleko, it was the engineers who referred to the body of water as a fire pool, due to a report revealing that the water supply in Nkandla would be insufficient in case of an emergency.

“The African National Congress and Police Minister have no competency to make a determination that a swimming pool is a fire pool,” said Nhleko.

“The work undertaken at the time was about the security features and there are about four issues outstanding identified by parliament through its ad-hoc committee.

“When I came in, there was already this kind of report and instruction by parliament that a minister of police needed to make a determination around those four areas, one of which was the question of the fire pool.

“The fire pool did not come with me as a minister of police or anybody else, except the group of engineers, who, in assessing the potential emergency situations around the homestead, made an analysis and said the water available within the homestead was a problem, it wasn’t sufficient.

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“They then said we needed an open water source. That’s where the issue of the fire pool comes in – it defines a open water source as a fire pool in the report, as a reliable water source in terms of an emergency.”

Nhleko: Mbalula implicates Ramaphosa

Nhleko further slammed Mbalula for implicating Ramaphosa, who was deputy president of the ANC at the time, as every report of the security upgrades went through him.

“I find it amazing that he has the audacity not only to implicate the ANC, but also the president of the ANC because I reported to him [Cyril Ramaphosa] about the security upgrades all the time.”

Nhleko also challenged Mbalula to reveal the source of the instruction to lie about the fire pool.

“Surely there must have been someone who gave me an instruction to lie. Who took that decision in the ANC to instruct me that I needed to lie to parliament and South Africans. He needs to present to us who did that,” he said.

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“It’s a also a serious assertion to suggest that either myself lied on behalf of the ANC, or the ANC members lied to parliament. I don’t know why he said these kinds of things, it really damages the image and standing of the ANC.

“He doesn’t have grounds to come to the conclusion that he has. He doesn’t have any proof or an analysis of what this issue was all about.”

‘I don’t sugar-coat issues’

Speaking to eNCA on Wednesday, Mbalula said Nathi Nhleko was well aware of ANC protocol and, as a member, knew not to ventilate his concerns in public.

“If I was Nathi Nhleko and somebody says that I was on a platform sweating and explaining a lie, and it hits in my skin, I would react the same.

“Depending on modesty, and what kind of person you are, if you are a cadre of the ANC you will call the SG and say ‘I did not expect you to say that’.

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“I was not addressing a media conference, I was talking to ANC supporters, and when I talk to ANC supporters and members, I don’t sugar-coat issues.

“His remarks are unfortunate.”

He said he would soon be meeting with Nhleko to discuss his grievances, but the former minister’s views of him as secretary-general did not phase him.