By Johnathan Paoli
Suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on Tuesday night rejected allegations made by an undercover criminal intelligence operative, known as Witness E, at the Madlanga Commission earlier in the day, calling the testimony “inaccurate and untruthful”.
“I deny the allegations he makes about me, including the interactions on his statements,” Mchunu said in a statement, adding that his legal team was dealing with the matter.
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Mchunu said he would respond formally to the allegations when he next appeared before the commission.
During his testimony on Tuesday, Witness E alleged that the former minister pressured him to provide a statement to the commission that would favour Mchunu.
He told the inquiry that Mchunu had repeatedly contacted him from various phone numbers since last year, allegedly saying he believed his communications were being monitored.
According to Witness E, Mchunu asked him to look for evidence of alleged abuses by the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), despite the witness telling him he had never worked with the unit and was unaware of any victims of alleged abuse.
He further alleged that Mchunu dictated elements of a proposed statement for submission to lawyers and possible use before the commission.
The statement, Witness E claimed, was intended to allege that crime intelligence had supplied unlicensed firearms and a stolen vehicle, via a secret service account, to hitmen implicated in the 2017 assassination of former ANCYL secretary general, Sindiso Magaqa.
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The statement also allegedly sought to implicate Crime Intelligence head Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo in covering up wrongdoing by members of the unit.
Witness E said Mchunu had asked him who the police members were who were involved in the assassination. He said Mchunu also asked him if Khumalo had been involved.
“I told him [that in] July 2017, General Khumalo was not part of Crime Intelligence and not in KZN. I made it clear to the minister that Khumalo was not involved in the assassination and only came to know of him later on.”
He said he refused to comply and instead misled Mchunu into believing he would draft the statement, despite having no intention of doing so.
The commission continues.
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