Mkhwanazi ad hoc hearing: The country is in the hands of criminals, says MKP

The uMkhonto we Sizwe Party (MKP) members of the Ad Hoc Committee investigating allegations made by SAPS KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, said that his bravery is unquestionable, and that the country is in the hands of criminals.

Members of Parliament Thulani Shongwe, David Skosana and Sibonelo Nomvalo, represent the MKP on the committee probing the allegations Mkhwanazi made of police corruption and interference.

“I can tell the nation that Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi is meticulous in all his responses here, and he has done his spade work. He is a seasoned policeman, experienced, above reproach, who cares for his people,” Skosana said.

Skosana said that when Mkhwanazi was answering questions about how he feels about his family and their safety, he “was open with us to say that his worry is not only about his family, it is about all South Africans”.

“That tells you that the man knows his story. His bravery is unquestionable. No one is this country can dispute what Mkhwanazi is. It takes a man (to do) what he has done. He has exposed shenanigans, but he has stopped short, for the interest of the country, some of the issues he is not going to reveal here.

“This will demonstrate to some of us that, our former President Jacob Zuma, when he said, he is not going to speak, he knows a lot in this country, but because of the state secrets, and the oath he took, obviously, now I understand that perhaps he can also reveal issues in this country. As he, Mkhwanazi, said the country will be turned upside down,” Skosana said.

Shongwe added that he feels that there is more to go, “but in general, what we have observed is that the lack of what we’re seeing is most of the legislation… as MKP we advocate for the change of this Constitution, which is mostly Roman-Dutch law. Now in some instances, it technically speaks about people who should be arrested, but they go in for a day, or two, or a month, and they’ll go out.

“I think we should advocate for the changing of the Constitution and the law, and that will require a huge number of votes for the party as well, or willing parties that are serious and interested in serving the people. The current GNU is not interested in serving the people.”

In July this year, the hitmen in the murder case of former African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) secretary general, Sindiso Magaqa, pleaded guilty to killing the young politician and wounding his colleagues, councillors Nontsikelelo Mafa and Jabulile Msiya.

Nomvalo said it was necessary to bring it up Magaqa as it happened in KwaZulu-Natal, where the PKTT was based, and it also followed the Moerane Commission, “which identified political killings as a scourge in KZN”.

“When Mkhwanazi made a statement during that (July) briefing, many people thought that he was not going to come under oath and elaborate on all the allegations that he made. They thought he was just doing it for the cameras, so it was very important for us today that we become inquisitive so that every unclear issue becomes clear.

“The conclusion that we are making out of his testimony is that this country is rotten to the core. It is in the hands of criminals, and all sectors of government are eroded. If anything, we must start everything from scratch, because he said, the whole criminal justice system has been infiltrated,” Nomvalo said.

“And he is repeating it here, he is mentioning names, so you can’t downplay that and say, maybe he is politicising things. He is not a politician. If you were a reasonable person, (and) form a logical conclusion, you make determination that he has no political interest,” Nomvalo said.

“He is just doing his job, as a police officer, so the conclusion we have drawn here is that a lot needs to be done to clean this country, because there is a lot of rot in critical state apparatuses which are dealing with critical issues of national importance.”

DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard also has faced mounting pressure to step down from the committee after explosive allegations made on Tuesday that she leaked classified Crime Intelligence information.

Skosana added that he is not surprised that Mkhwanazi named names as he has shown that “he is not speculative about all these issues, he has substantiated them, in front of everyone, under oath”.

theolin.tembo@inl.co.za