A former mechanical engineer at Anglo American appeared before the committee on Wednesday.
Ad hoc committee chairperson Soviet Lekganyane at Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Facility in Pretoria on 26 November 2025. Picture: Gallo Images/Lefty Shivambu
An appearance by a witness before Parliament’s ad hoc committee on Wednesday was met with scepticism, as MPs questioned the clarity and relevance of the submission.
The committee has been receiving testimony from members of the public as part of its probe into alleged criminal infiltration and political interference within South Africa’s law enforcement structures.
New witness testifies before ad hoc committee
Pheladi Matjaola, a former mechanical engineer at Anglo American, appeared before the committee at the Good Hope Chamber in Cape Town, where she claimed to be the victim of a coordinated cybercrime operation.
“I am a cybercrime victim, and my human rights are being violated,” she said.
Matjaola told MPs that she has previously written to Parliament on several occasions to report what she described as harassment by former Anglo American CEO Themba Mkhwanazi.
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According to her testimony, she opened a criminal case against Mkhwanazi in 2021, after which police seized her electronic devices as part of their investigation.
“The police are still in hold of those gadgets,” Matjaola said.
She further alleged that she has been under constant digital surveillance, claiming that her movements were tracked through Google and that her email job applications consistently failed to reach their recipients.
As a result, she has been unable to find employment since 2019.
Watch the ad hoc committee inquiry below:
‘It hasn’t been easy’
Matjaola testified she turned to Parliament for assistance because there has been no progress in the three cyber bullying and harassment cases she opened.
The witness became emotional during her testimony as she spoke about the personal impact of the alleged surveillance.
“It hasn’t been easy since 2021 when I realised that the sources of my perpetrator are following my daughter to school,” Matjaola said.
She revealed that concerns for her child’s safety forced her to move her daughter from a boarding school in Limpopo to Cape Town.
Matjaola added she resigned from her consulting position to personally ensure her daughter’s protection.
Under questioning from MPs, it emerged that Matjaola had also implicated KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
She alleged that a media briefing hosted by Mkhwanazi on 6 July 2025 was a “defensive strategy” aimed at preventing the arrest of the former Anglo American CEO.
Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) MP Wouter Wessels questioned whether her conclusions were influenced by frustration, but Matjaola maintained her position.
Chairperson rebukes witness
Following the exchanges, committee chairperson Soviet Lekganyane delivered a sharp rebuke, accusing Matjaola of misusing the parliamentary platform.
“You have abused this platform. These MPs have been very patient with you and have given you all the time that you need to tell them what your problem is.
“I can tell you that your problem could have been stated in five minute, but what you did to us today is horribly wrong,” Lekganyane said.
While acknowledging the committee’s sympathy for her personal circumstances, Lekganyane took issue with Matjaola’s admission that a specific allegation she made was from the popular social media platform TikTok.
“Besides the names of those people that you mentioned, I don’t think you have been fair to us and that you have used our time profitably,” he said.
Lekganyane added: “Let’s give the police a chance to respond to the questions we will send to them about your matter, and if there are any conclusions to be drawn, those conclusions would be assessed accordingly.”
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