By Johnathan Paoli
Parliament’s ad hoc committee probing allegations of political interference and corruption within South Africa’s criminal justice system is set for another dramatic week when proceedings resume on Tuesday morning.
Suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu will continue giving evidence, while former Crime Intelligence boss Richard Mdluli has formally requested to testify before the committee.
Evidence leader and senior counsel Norman Arendse told members of parliament (MPs) at the close of last week’s session that he would require more time to complete leading Mchunu’s evidence.
“We will continue with Minister Mchunu’s testimony on Tuesday, and MPs can then begin their questioning on Wednesday,” Committee chairperson Soviet Lekganyane declared.
The committee has been examining the reasons behind Mchunu’s decision to disband the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) and broader issues of internal SAPS instability.
In a surprise development, former Crime Intelligence (CI) boss Richard Mdluli has written to the committee saying he wants to “share his side of the story”.
His name has featured prominently in recent testimony from KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya.
Both witnesses alleged that funds from a covert police fund were misused under Mdluli’s leadership.
Mkhwanazi specifically claimed that the money was used to build a perimeter wall around former police minister Nathi Mthethwa’s private residence in 2011.
Mdluli, who headed Crime Intelligence between 2009 and 2012 under former President Jacob Zuma, denies wrongdoing.
Through his legal team, he said the ongoing hearings were allowing only one version of events to dominate the narrative.
He urged parliament to “make the necessary arrangements for our client’s appearance at the earliest possible opportunity”, including his travel and accommodation.
Mdluli, currently on trial in the North Gauteng High Court alongside former SAPS supply chain manager Heine Barnard and former CFO Solomon Lazarus, faces charges of corruption, fraud, and theft involving the alleged misuse of secret police funds between 2008 and 2012.
The group pleaded not guilty in May this year.
He also indicated that he intends to appear before the Madlanga Commission which, like the parliamentary committee, is investigating alleged corruption and interference within the justice and security sectors.
While the committee and commission prepare for another week of evidence, the parallel defamation battle between Mkhwanazi and private forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan has escalated.
O’Sullivan has filed a R10 million counterclaim against Mkhwanazi after the commissioner filed to sue him last month for R5 million over allegedly defamatory comments made in media interviews.
In court papers before the Gauteng High Court, O’Sullivan argues that Mkhwanazi defamed him by accusing him of criminal conduct and labelling him “an agent working for someone else”.
He denies the allegations and says Mkhwanazi’s statements to the Madlanga Commission and parliamentary committee were false and malicious.
“If a case has been opened for investigation, it has been opened unlawfully because it has not been registered, and there is no record of it, or Mkhwanazi would have been able to cite the case number,” O’Sullivan said.
Mkhwanazi’s original R5 million lawsuit stems from O’Sullivan’s remarks in July, when he called the commissioner one of the biggest criminals that ever wore a police uniform.
O’Sullivan had alleged that Mkhwanazi authorised R36 million in luxury vehicle purchases in 2021 and accepted expensive gifts from a police supplier, claims the commissioner has dismissed as defamatory and baseless.
Madlanga Commission holds partial in camera hearings
The Madlanga Commission announced on Sunday that it will hold partially in camera hearings from Monday to Wednesday, in line with a ruling by Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga.
Commission spokesperson Jeremy Michaels said in a statement that the witnesses, identified only as Witnesses A, B, and C, will testify remotely and off camera, but their voices will be audible to the public and media.
“The witnesses will testify in relation to their experiences as detectives investigating crimes related to the criminal cartels which form the subject matter of the Commission’s investigations, and to the attempts that have been made to interfere with these investigations,” Michaels said.
The hearings will take place at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College, where the public and media will have access to the main auditorium.
The sessions will be live-streamed, and all exhibits presented by the witnesses will be displayed in real-time on screen.
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