By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Chief of Staff in the police Ministry Cedrick Nkabinde was back before parliament’s ad hoc committee after his testimony was halted prematurely for reasons including that dates in the written statement that supplied to the committee did not align with his oral testimony.
He began as a detective constable in the South African Police Service in 2004, before moving to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), which at that stage was headed by Robert McBride.
Nkabinde testified about a broad range of issues, including conspiracy dating back to around 2017, when he was with the Ipid and before he became Senzo Mchunu’s chief of staff.
He claimed a team was assembled to ensure that the acting national police commissioner at the time, Khomotso Phahlane, would not be appointed in a permanent capacity.
Nkabinde said the task team consisted of IPID boss McBride, forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan, the late Mandlakayise Mahlangu of IPID, himself, McBride’s personal assistant Sarah-Jane Trent, a white lady called Candice from Crime Intelligence, Deputy National Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya, two white males from AfriForum, and the DA, as well as a white lady who was a journalist.
He claimed AfriForum financially “backed” this plan. His assertions have not been tested.
Eventually Phahlane and several Crime Intelligence big fish were arrested over R54-million tender fraud and they were charged with with fraud, corruption, theft and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act.
Nkabinde and Mchunu are implicated in the developing law enforcement scandal that erupted a few months ago when the KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, made a series of serious accusations.
Various matters were focused on during Wednesday’s proceedings.
This included Nkabinde’s knowledge of meetings involving Mchunu and Brown Mogotsi, an ANC-aligned North West businessman.
He told MPs that the minister provided him with the contact details of Mogotsi and asked him to secure a briefing on the illegal mining situation.
Nkabinde said he contacted Mogotsi immediately, but the Minister’s diary was full. After further coordination, “the date of the 30th of September 2024 was identified as a possible meeting date based on the minister’s availability.” Mogotsi confirmed he would attend with four others, and the meeting was scheduled for the official residence, said Nkabinde.
The briefing was cancelled that morning after an urgent matter arose for the Minister, he said.
A second date, October 28, was set, and the meeting went ahead, but Nkabinde said he did not attend and could not confirm what was discussed.
He told the committee he could only assume it dealt with the Stilfontein crisis, “as that is the purpose for which this meeting was arranged.”
Another key issue focused on during Wednesday’s proceedings was the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) in KwaZulu-Natal.
Mchunu issued a controversial directive on 31 December 2024, while he was police minister, to disband the team.
Mkhwanazi has alleged that Mchunu was influenced to do this because certain crime suspects believed this would impede investigations against them.
Mchunu denied that, saying factors that contributed to his disbandment order included the tight police budget and transferring the functions of the PKTT into a Murder and Robbery Unit.
Nkabinde said that after Mchunu’s directive to disband the PKTT became public, Mkhwanazi contacted him (Nkabinde).
According to Nkabinde, “He asked why I had allowed the minister to issue the directive and further asked me to speak to the minister and to request that he withdraw the directive.”
“He said that I should speak to the minister, not as chief of staff, but as a person who has known the minister before … I became chief of staff. He indicated that if the minister does not withdraw the directive, there will be fightback”.
Nkabinde relayed what Mkhwanazi had told him to Mchunu.
The ad hoc committee will resume on Thursday to hear evidence from Molefe Fani, the Divisional Commissioner: Supply Chain Manager.
Underworld kingpin Vusimuzi Matlala’s company, Medicare24 Tshwane District, was awarded the R360m tender to provide health risk management services to SAPS. The procurement was alleged to have irregularities and inconsistencies with the bidding process. The contract was terminated due to failure to meet contractual expectations.
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Video Courtesy of Parliament.