Suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu said he had preferred Cedrick Nkabinde as his chief of staff, not because he had a relationship with him but because he had a background in policing and was qualified.

Responding to questions from Chief Evidence Leader, Advocate Norman Arendse, SC, Mchunu said their relationship developed when Nkabinde still worked at IPID and this was one of the reasons he appointed him.

“I would have benefitted from somebody who has background of how police work and he met those criteria. You appoint somebody you can trust,” said the minister when testifying in the parliamentary inquiry probing allegations of corruption and political interference in the criminal justice system.

The inquiry was sparked by a press briefing held by KZN police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi on July 6, where he accused Mchunu of political interference and disbanding the Political Killings Task Team to protect criminal syndicates.

Mkhwanazi testified two weeks ago that Nkabinde, before he was appointed as chief of staff at the Department of Water and Sanitation, had confided that he knew absolutely nothing about what the job entailed.

Mkhwanazi said he was surprised that Mchunu took Nkabinde with him when he moved to the police ministry.

Mkhwanazi had also revealed that Nkabinde told him that he (Nkabinde) and former IPID head Robert McBride had met Mchunu at Nkabinde’s house, to tell him about a criminal investigation they were busy with at IPID.

“It would appear that at the time the minister might have been implicated in that case but the two of them somehow had a working arrangement with the minister,” Mkhwanazi had said.

“Apparently there was a complaint of police involvement and Mchunu had to a degree done something wrong, but was never arrested in the incident involving bodyguards,” said Mkhwanazi in his testimony.

On Tuesday, Mchunu said he first met Nkabinde after he had written to McBride about a complaint regarding the murder of a member of his security detail. This was when Mchunu was the KZN Premier.

He said there were rumours that he was involved in the murder of a member of his then security detail and that the Hawks pursued the investigation despite the Director of Public Prosecutions refusing to prosecute in the matter.

“It was very strange that the Hawks started pursuing the matter in a very strange way.”

Mchunu said McBride had assigned Nkabinde to do the investigation on his complaint.

“I maintained contact with Nkabinde. He gave me feedback in terms of what was happening.”

According to Mchunu, he had enlisted the services of a private investigator to ensure the matter was investigated objectively and the culprits arrested.

He said McBride, who brought in Nkabinde to investigate, found that he was satisfied by the reasons advanced by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Mchunu dismissed suggestions by Mkhwanazi that Nkabinde was unemployed when Mchunu hired him as his chief of staff.

He said Nkabinde had given him reasons why he had left IPID and was then employed by a bank.

Mchunu claimed that Nkabinde had indicated to him that he told Mkhwanazi about his employment at the bank and had even invited him to their activities at work.

mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za

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