Parliament’s Mkhwanazi investigation running out of time

Parliament’s ad hoc committee probe into Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s allegations will only begin its hearings in mid-September at the earliest, leaving it with a month and a half to conclude its investigation.

This is according to the committee’s chairperson, Soviet Lekganyane, who recently said that hearings will commence on September 16th or 24th.

However, the committee only has until 31 October to complete its investigation and report to the National Assembly.

As a result, several Members of Parliament (MPs) have expressed concern about meeting this deadline.

Parliament set up an Ad Hoc Committee to probe Mkhwanazi’s claims of a criminal justice system capture by a criminal syndicate.

Allegations include the disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team, missing case dockets, blocked intelligence posts, a R360 million contract scandal, and IPID interference.

This investigation is separate from the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry created by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Part of the delay in Parliament’s probe is because of the decision that Mkhwanazi would be the first witness to appear in the investigation.

However, the committee’s evidence leader, Advocate Norman Arendse, Senior Counsel, said that the KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner is currently consulting with the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.

“We will only be able to consult with General Mkhwanazi once the Madlanga Commission finalises the consultations with him during the course of this coming week,” Arendse said on Friday.

African National Congress (ANC) MP Xola Nqola said there is a need for extra time and proposed that Lekganyane apply for an additional 30 days to push the deadline to 30 November.

“Based on how we have started, we won’t be able to conclude the hearings by 15 October,” he said.

Nqola argued that there were names of witnesses mentioned in the scope of the investigation that the committee has yet to agree must be called to appear before it. 

Democratic Alliance (DA) Glynnis Breytenbach echoed Nqola’s argument, pointing to the delays in starting the investigation.

“The sooner we can start, the better. It seems unlikely at this point that we will be able to finish in time. The DA also suggests that the chair start mooting the idea that we may require an extension,” she said.

“Having said that, we should all commit to being available during the constituency period and on holidays and weekends if necessary.”

The MK Party also supported the motion to apply for an extension.

Lekganyane said that if the committee believes it is necessary, he can apply to the National Assembly Speaker, Thoko Didiza, to extend their deadline.

Arendse said that Parliament had discussed sharing statements with the Madlanga Commission to use as a starting point.

“We have undertaken with each other to share information if necessary and indicate where it’s confidential,” Arendse added.

Slow start to the Parliamentary probe

The committee is now under increased pressure after members failed to reach a consensus on how to conduct the investigation.

It took two meetings for the Parliamentarians to agree on the terms of reference.

The committee first sat down on 5 August to elect a chairperson, with the Soviet Lekganyane elected.

They convened again on 14 August to begin drafting the terms of reference, which they picked up again on Monday, 18 August, in a ten-hour marathon meeting.

Several points of contention arose during the two meetings, which MPs failed to agree upon.

One point of contention for the committee was the use of Parliament’s legal counsel, which was opposed by members of the MK Party (MKP) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

Another was whether the committee was empowered to deal with classified information if presented with it.

ANC MP and chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli asked how the committee would handle classified information if members were not adequately vetted.

ANC MP Khusela Diko’s proposal that Lekganyane, as chair, have full control over how the witnesses are questioned was fiercely opposed and caused further controversy among the politicians.

The committee has since been able to finalise the document and adopted it the next time they convened.

DA MP and Chairperson of Parliament’s portfolio committee on Police criticised that the committee’s lack of agreement is delaying a process that needs to begin urgently.

“Every day lost to procedural wrangling is a day that the rot inside the South African Police Service (SAPS) continues unchecked,” Cameron said.

“The allegations involve political interference, the sabotage of specialist task teams, the removal of case dockets, and collusion with organised crime.

This follows a statement in July where Cameron said a Parliamentary inquiry would have a quicker turnaround time than the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.

“The advantage of some kind of Parliamentary inquiry is that it is something that can happen a lot quicker than other inquiries, is transparent, and allows for public participation,” he said.