Suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, when he appeared before the Ad Hoc Committee.
Image: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
ANC Chief Whip Mdumiseni Ntuli on Wednesday urged the Ad Hoc Committee to recommend an investigation into the alleged corrupt relationship between suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and alleged political fixer Brown Mogotsi.
Ntuli said the evidence on the alleged corruption relationship between Mchunu and Mogotsi still remained unproven and inconclusive.
“It relies largely on what one can only call speculation and conjecture, not necessarily substantive evidence, which we can stand on to confirm, indeed, that the two gentlemen, the minister and Mr Mogotsi, have entered into some corrupt relationship,” he said.
Regarding evidence on alleged corruption between Mogotsi and attempted murder-accused tenderpreneur Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and corruption done on behalf of Mchunu, Ntuli said he held the view that the report should indicate that they can't make a finding, as the information before the committee did not confirm such.
“Of course, I qualify my statement that it may, however, be necessary if further investigation is carried out to determine if there is any link between the minister and Mr Brown Mogotsi.
“I am making that qualification cognisant of the fact that that investigation would not necessarily be done by the Ad Hoc Committee.
“Once the Ad Hoc Committee has concluded its work, it may decide which agencies of the state would be appropriate to handle the matter so that they go deeper than what we were not able to do as the Ad Hoc Committee,” he said.
Ntuli made the comments when the Ad Hoc Committee that probed allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi deliberated the preliminary draft report.
Earlier, Committee Chairperson Soviet Lekganyane said the members had been given sufficient time to go through the report and make inputs to be incorporated in the draft report that is scheduled for deliberations on Wednesday and Thursday.
“After we have finalised the report this week, we will send it to all affected parties for a period of 10 days, and after that, the committee will come back for the final adoption of the report,” Lekganyane said.
He indicated that once adopted, the report will be sent to the Office of National Speaker Thoko Didiza, who will refer it to the National Assembly for consideration.
“There is no one among us, including myself as chair, who will speak about the report of this committee until the Speaker officially tables it in the National Assembly,” Lekganyane said.
Ntuli was scathing of Mchunu for issuing a directive to suspended National Commissioner Fannie Masemola to disband the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT).
Ntuli said there was no meaningful consultation between Mchunu, President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Inter-Ministerial Committee, and other stakeholders on the disbandment of the PKTT.
“The assessment of the work of the PKTT was not conducted, and the ministry’s reasons for disbanding it are not entirely supported by a sequence of well-grounded facts at his disposal,” he concluded.
Ntuli also said Mchunu had misconstrued his power to direct the freezing of the filling of posts in the Crime Intelligence Division.
He said a decision by the executive or administrative authority must be rational and relate to the purpose it was given for.
Ntuli stated that regulations granted the police commissioner the power to decide on the creation and filling of posts within the SAPS.
However, he said Mchunu was within his powers to direct the national commissioner to develop a plan and assess the personnel impact and efficiency at the ports of entry.
Ntuli also told the committee that the allegation that Mchunu was a member of the Big 5 criminal syndicate was not sustained or supported by evidence before the committee.
He further said the evidence on the existence and coordination of the Big 5 was inconclusive.
“We can't stand up and firmly say with certainty that the Big 5 exists as it was argued before us.”
Also speaking at the meeting, Patriotic Alliance MP Ashley Sauls echoed Ntuli's statement that there was no evidence of a drug cartel that Mchunu gave the directive because he was infiltrated by the syndicate.
However, Sauls said the disbandment of the PKTT did not take place immediately because an agreement was reached that the disbandment would take time.
“There is no emphasis on that,” he said about what is in the draft report.
MK Party MP David Skosana said: “We know it (directive to disband the PKTT) was not lawful. There should be no doubt about it as we seem to be speculating.”
ActionSA MP Dereleen James highlighted the need for their recommendation to deal with witnesses who misled the committee during their testimonies.
“Any witness reasonably suspected of having misled the committee should be referred to the appropriate authorities for investigation and prosecution,” James said.
EFF MP Leigh-Ann Mathys, who observed that they had faced witnesses who gave sworn affidavits and told a different story when giving their testimony.
“We need a process where we go through and identify cases where we have had conflicting testimonies,” Mathys said, adding that Parliament should lay perjury charges against the implicated parties.
Mathys made an example about former IPID head Robert McBride, who denied a relationship with Sarah-Jane Trent, only for the latter to confirm it during her evidence.
“We must open cases of perjury and courts decide who perjured themselves,” she said.