Members of Parliament (MPs) on Thursday said they appreciated how former Police Minister Bheki Cele was forthcoming with information during the Ad Hoc Committee investigating the allegations made by SAPS KwaZulu-Natal provincial head Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.

Cele was the Minister of Police from February 2018 to 17 June 2024, preceding the tenure of suspended Minister Senzo Mchunu.

Cele started with his testimony, sharing insight into his tenure as police minister, the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), and his connections with Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.

He described Matlala as an acquaintance and not a friend.

“I am not a friend to Matlala. I met Matlala in December. He is my acquaintance… We are not friends. I know him. I don’t know his house. He doesn’t know my house.

“Friends would know more than that, so I deny (that we are friends). I don’t agree that he is my friend. He’s my acquaintance,” Cele said.

The DA’s Ian Cameron said Cele had been very forthcoming with information.

“Obviously, we’ll have to see where it leads when we go to cross-examination, but so far he’s been very forthcoming. It didn’t feel like he was dancing around answers. He was quite straightforward with many things.

“There was also very little doubt, if any, regarding relationships with people, whether people that are considered suspicious or not; he was very open about the relationships that he has.”

Cameron described the less than two hour handover from Cele to Mchunu, as being strange.

“The handover thing of just two hours, I immediately sent a message to some of my colleagues saying I find it very, very strange. A handover like that shouldn’t be shorter than two days, never mind two hours.

“It’s a significant amount of work and a very broad scope. Remember that the space as a ministry doesn’t just include SAPS. It includes IPID, the Hawks, it includes PSIRA and the secretariat (Civilian Secretariat for Police Service).

“It’s a major, major stakeholder in terms of safety and security in the country.”

During Thursday morning’s proceedings, Cele raised an issue with the immediate disbandment of the PKTT, saying, “Why do you then stop, when the mission has not been accomplished?”

Cameron added that he felt that there was a little bias from Cele regarding the matter.

“I think he’s likely more positive about it because he was part of the establishment of the PKTT. That could be the reason, but again, we’ll see what happens in the cross-examination process.

Cele also said that he felt that Mkhwanazi was not in the right arena when he was being questioned about the devolution of policing powers.

Cele said he felt it is the police’s responsibility to enforce the law and that he is not in favour of the devolution of powers.

“II still think there’s a misperception that it’s just about political power, and I think politics has unfortunately taken centre stage when it comes to capacitating police, whether it’s through a more decentralised model, like for example with devolution or something else.

“The point is just that, even if SAPS had all the political will in the world at the moment to do their job, they literally don’t have the capacity, so we have to think of alternatives,” Cameron said.

theolin.tembo@inl.co.za

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