Former President and Umkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) leader Jacob Zuma said the party will do all it can to ensure that those implicated in the Madlanga Commission and Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee are held accountable.

Zuma, during a press conference on Thursday, said what has emerged so far from the Madlanga Commission especially, has vindicated him and his party on their previous claims of political interference in the judiciary.

He called for a lifestyle audit of all the members of the judiciary to determine whether their lifestyles are in line with their normal earnings. 

The Madlanga Commission, which is chaired by the retired Deputy Chief Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, is currently hearing testimony of political and criminal interference in the entire justice and security cluster.

The commission was appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa following KwaZulu-Natal Police provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s explosive revelation that the entire security cluster has been infiltrated by criminal syndicates, particularly drug lords in Gauteng.

Zuma said Mkhwanazi’s explosive revelations have shaken the very foundations of the criminal justice system.

Zuma said the country is gripped by a deep moral and institutional crisis.

“We salute the bravery of Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and the members of the Political Killings Task Team. His courage has exposed how the state apparatus is manipulated to protect the interests of the few whilst persecuting the many.

“As the MK Party we demand full accountability from those implicated and therefore, we will use every parliamentary and legal instrument at our disposal to ensure that the truth triumphs over corruption and cover-ups.”

He said the party was renewing its call for lifestyle audits of members of the judiciary, especially in light of Mkhwanazi’s allegations.

“This confirms what the MK Party has for long been exposing, that judicial officers are not immune to corruption or political manipulation. This further confirms the MK Party’s view that the judiciary has been corrupted and over compromised,” said Zuma

He said that he is particularly concerned about the use of state police resources to protect private corporate interests.

In his testimony, Mkhwanazi revealed that Police Task Force and National Intervention Unit members were deployed to protect mining company, Richards Bay Minerals in KZN. 

Zuma said this action proved that the lives of Black South Africans are expendable, in defence of private capital. 

He also used the opportunity to take a swipe at the Government of National Unity (GNU), which was formed after no party obtained an outright majority after last year’s election.

“We reiterate our commitment and support for the work of the Parliamentary Ad-hoc Committee into allegations made by Mkhwanazi, as only Parliament can hold the executive to account and bring real criminals to justice. We should also make South Africans aware that there will be a true test of the so-called GNU when the time comes for Parliament to vote for or against the implementation of the outcomes of the Ad-Hoc Committee’s parliamentary report.

“We  have no hope that the GNU will vote positively for the implementation of the report which aims to hold Ramaphosa and his cabinet accountable,” said Zuma.

 He further called on the Constitutional Court to unseal the CR17 bank statements, and for the Ad-Hoc Committee to call upon the Independent Police Investigation Directorate to declassify the Phala Phala report. 

The party also paraded former ANC senior member Tony Yengeni, who was appointed as the second deputy president responsible for organisational work, while the first deputy president Dr John Hlophe will focus on parliamentary work.

willem.phungula@inl.co.za

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