Parliamentarians reached a consensus to recommend the establishment of an Ad Hoc Committee to the National Assembly, aimed at investigating explosive allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.

However, the DA did not make its stance known on the matter when the decision was taken.

This happened on Wednesday when the committees on Police and Justice and Constitutional development held a joint meeting to discuss the approach and process of Mkhwanazi’s allegations after National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza referred Mkhwanazi’s allegations to the two committees and the Joint Standing Committee of Intelligence (JSCI).

Concluding the four-hour-long discussions, Justice and constitutional Development Portfolio Committee chairperson Xola Nqola said there was an overwhelming view that they recommend that an ad hoc committee be established.

“There must be strict terms of reference, which must be adopted Tuesday on virtual platform. There must be strict timeframes that must also be adopted by this committee Tuesday next week,” said Nqola.

Nqola had explained that Didiza’s instruction was that committees on Police and Justice and Constitutional work together while the JSCI focused on intelligence related matters when some MPs questioned why JSCI was not part of the meeting.

Ian Cameron, chairperson of Police Portfolio Committee, said while President Cyril Ramaphosa had appointed a commission of inquiry, Parliament has a constitutional duty to hold the executive accountable.

“The oversight must be conducted transparently with discipline without compromising any investigation or judicial process,” he said.

Briefing the joint meeting, parliamentary legal advisor Andile Tetyana said there were issues that did not require a formal inquiry such as status of task team on political killings, dockets that were reportedly taken away from the task team and filling of vacancies in the Crime Intelligence, among others.

Tetyana also said Police Minister Senzo Mchunu was not immune from scrutiny because he was on special leave.

He advised the MPs that in probing the allegations, they could choose to pursue a full-blown parliamentary inquiry, but advised that it should not duplicate the commission of inquiry to be chaired by Judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga.

Other options were an Ad Hoc Committee and the two committees could work together.

ANC MP Samuel Moela moved that they could recommend an Ad Hoc Committee to probe he allegations and that they come up with terms of reference.

Instead of MPs immediately supporting Moela’s motion, they spent much of the time expressing their views on the JSCI not part of their meeting, unhappiness with aspects of the legal opinion, what the parliamentary should cover and the commission of inquiry set up by Ramaphosa, among other things.

After ANC’s Oscar Mathafa backed Moela’s proposals for an Ad Hoc Committee, Rise Mzansi’s Makashule Gana raised his reservations and preferred the joint committee investigation.

“There was once an Ad Hoc Committee that looked into the Public Protector. It lasted over years,” said Gana, highlighting that involvement of lawyers could prolong the parliamentary investigation.

While National Coloured Congress leader Fadiel Adams questioned the sympathy showed to Mkhwanazi since he made the explosive allegations and targeting of some certain people, Freedom Front Plus’ Deloise Denner enquired whether he could be part of the parliamentary investigation as he was a complainant in cases involving some of the top brass of SAPS.

A legal advice will be sought regarding Adams’s possible conflict of interest in the Mkhwanazi allegation probe.

After a long to and fro discussion, the EFF came out in support of the Ad Hoc Committee.

EFF MP Leigh-Ann Mathys said: “EFF supports the Ad Hoc Committee. We wrote to the Speaker requesting that the National Assembly resolve on the Ad Hoc Committee. Our next meeting should be on terms of reference.”

This was backed by Freedom Front Plus, ACDP along with MK Party, Rise Mzansi and ActionSA following suit.

ACDP leader Kenneth Meshoe said the committee should work at top speed.

“People out there are demanding answers. I want to appeal with Parliament to take a warning about sitting on time bomb seriously. I would be surprised within six months if we don’t see trouble in the country,” Meshoe said.

None of the DA MPs spoke during the deliberations, except Cameron, who co-chaired the meeting.

This prompted EFF’s Sam Matiase to state: “Its silence is worrying. Nonetheless the DA understands the system better than us.”

mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za

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