A criminal charge of perjury has been laid against embattled Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi who retracted serious allegations he made against former police minister Bheki Cele. 

The criminal charges were laid at Cape Town Central Police station by MP from the National Coloured Congress (NCC), Fadiel Adams on Tuesday morning. 

Adams said after the retraction was made which was done via SMS, Members of Parliament objected to the manner of withdrawal and demanded that Mkhwanazi return to the committee and formally retract his sworn statement.

Western Cape police spokesperson, Sergeant Wesley Twigg, confirmed a case was opened. 

“The mentioned case number is a perjury case registered at Cape Town Central SAPS. The identity of those concerned are not released,” said Twigg. 

Enquiries to KZN police spokesperson Robert Netshiunda, probing whether they are aware of the perjury case, had not been answered by deadline.

In his affidavit, Adams said of the retracted allegations: “Such statements have the potential to erode public trust in SAPS leadership and create confusion regarding official investigations. I further express concern that if such false allegations were made publicly against a Minister, other persons may also be falsely accused by General Mkhwanazi without substantial evidence. These false public allegations still constitute serious misconduct and possibly a criminal false accusation (defamation or defeating justice).

“Subsequent to the retraction or apology made by Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi, the Judiciary of South Africa issued a media statement noting that General Mkhwanazi’s ‘claims, made without substantiation, are extremely damaging to the public confidence in the independence and integrity of our courts’.”

During his testimony before the Madlanga Commission, Mkhwanazi said Cele allegedly sent attempted murder-accused tenderpreneur Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala a bank account and money was deposited into that account.

In his retraction, Mkhwanazi said the team that was working on the analysis got the bank account wrong and he apologised to Cele for “any inconvenience or hurt caused”. 

Adams had not been spared from Mkhwanazi’s claims at the Madlanga Commission and accused Adams of having handled criminal intelligence “recklessly”. 

During testimony, Mkhwanazi said the sensitive intelligence was intended exclusively for vetted members of the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence, a parliamentary body tasked with overseeing intelligence services. 

MP Adams is not a member of this committee.

In a rebuttal, on Tuesday, Adams said: “Mkhwanazi has an issue with me having obtained top secret information. He is talking top secret information in the Madlanga Commission without having the relevant security clearance. 

“The provincial commissioner does not have top secret classification which means he is not supposed to receive top secret classified documents. Which means he can’t dispense a budget properly, he can’t give a directive properly because he does not have access to top secret information. Or does he? Is he guilty of the same thing he is accusing me of. This man is a walking contradiction,” said Adams.

Adams said he was unsure if the retraction made by Mkhwanazi impacts against the allegations and accusations made against him. 

“I am concerned about the credibility of the man.” 

chevon.booysen@inl.co.za

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