By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The parliamentary adhoc committee investigating police corruption postponed testimony from Cedric Nkabinde on Thursday after lawmakers discovered inaccuracies in his sworn statement.
The committee is probing allegations of corruption and political interference in the criminal justice system, including claims that suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu directed the disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT).
The committee heard testimony about Nkabinde’s close relationship with KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
Members of Parliament accused him of providing false dates regarding meetings with corruption-accused controversial businessman Brown Mogotsi and Mchunu’s response to the Lusikisiki massacre.
He maintained that the meeting between Mchunu and Mogotsi occurred before the Lusikisiki visit and that the call from Mkhwanazi came afterward as opposed to his sworn statement.
He told the committee he had known who Mogotsi was before Mkhwanazi sent him his number. But in his sworn statement he said it was Mchunu who sent him Mogotsi’s phone number to organise a meeting.
Nkabinde explained that he had told the evidence leader Norman Arendse during consultations that he cannot provide the exact dates, but was advised to include “more or less” dates in his statement.
‘The confusion is caused by me not having my gadgets,” Nkabinde told the ad hoc committee.
Nkabinde and Mchunu handed over their gadgets to the South African Police Service (SAPS) as part of the investigation into Mkhwanazi’s allegations — first made in a media briefing — accusing the police minister of political interference and collusion with syndicates.
uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party MP Sibonelo Nomvalo said the Ad hoc committee’s evidence leader should have better prepared the witness in drafting his affidavit.
“The senior counsel was supposed, during consultation, to guide the witness and say to him these are issues that you are expected to respond to during the interview in an ad hoc committee,” Nomvalo said.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema asked Nkabinde how he had written the affidavit presented to the committee without drawing on his gadgets for the information.
“[For the] dates I was thumb-sucking,” Nkabinde confessed.
“So we are being given thumb-sucked information here in front of the nation and we must accept that. The simple thing should have been [to state] to the evidence leader, ‘I don’t have my gadgets and as a result I’m unable to give accurate information,” Malema retorted, adding that Nkabinde’s testimony should not proceed as he was presenting inaccurate information.
ActionSA MP Dereen James slammed Nkabinde for wasting the committee’s time.
“Are we meant to sit here today and even probe you as to when things happened when you’ve given us a written statement. I don’t think we should continue with you today,” she said.
ANC MP Khuselo Sangoni defended Nkabinde, noting that throughout his testimony as well as his submission “he kept referring to the fact that he does not have his devices, which means that he feels disadvantaged in participating in this process”.
EFF MP Leigh-Ann Mathys said Nkabinde’s admission does not show oversight but perjury.
“As the EFF, we are going to open a case after this because if we are going to adopt the approach that we must take some sections as they do in court as a mistake and oversight—as we continue during this entire process, we are going to have to say this paragraph also was an oversight.”
After a short adjournment, committee chairperson Soviet Lekganyane agreed to defer the meeting to allow Nkabinde time to correct his statement.
Mogotsi is scheduled to appear from November 18 to 20 to respond to claims he attempted to influence the disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team.
The committee must complete its investigation by the end of November and has strategically reduced its witness list to meet the deadline.
Two different processes have been established to investigate Mkhwanazi’s allegations: the Parliamentary ad hoc committee and the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
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Video Courtesy of Parliament.