Former police minister Bheki Cele on Friday spoke in support of KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who has since retracted allegations concerning a bank account allegedly linked to Cele.
Speaking at the parliamentary inquiry on Friday, Cele described Mkhwanazi’s mistake as “genuine” and suggested that he should be forgiven for the mix-up.
He made the remarks when he was responding to a question from ANC MP Khusela Sangoni-Diko on whether he accepted Mkhwanazi’s apology.
“I have not seen him. I am planning to see him, but as I sit here, I believe he made a genuine mistake, and if you make a mistake and I believe you made a mistake, yes, you need to be pardoned, but I have not arrived there,” he said.
On Thursday, Mkhwanazi sent a message to the parliamentary inquiry evidence leaders withdrawing his statement that Cele sent attempted murder-accused tenderpreneur Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala a bank account, and money was deposited into that account.
Mkhwanazi claimed that the team working on the analysis got the bank account wrong, and that it is not a reference to Cele.
“The allegation is withdrawn with due apologies from Lieutenant-General Mkhwanazi for any inconvenience or hurt caused,” said Advocate Norman Arendse, when he informed of the withdrawal.
However, parliamentarians want him to explain himself and for him to preferable return to the Ad Hoc Committee to make the apology, where he made the allegation.
Mkhwanazi’s withdrawal of the allegation came after Cele testified at the inquiry that while he has WhatsApp, he merely reads it and never writes messages.
“Not once in my life have I written either WhatsApp or text message,” Cele said, adding that he had not even sent his wife messages in all the years.
On Friday, Cele reflected positively on Mkhwanazi’s character, saying he is one of the police officers he liked because he knew his work.
“Mkhwanazi is human like you. He has his own faults,” he said.
Cele also said Mkhwanazi was a tough nut because of the training he received in the SAPS Special Task Force.
“I think what has happened with Mkhwanazi is South African society has said hallelujah. As a human being, you would like to float in clouds of popularity and out of that you begin to make mistakes.”
Cele was asked by DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard whether he was surprised by the allegations by Mkhwanazi, whom she thought he has good relations with.
“I was surprised because I knew that the thing does not come close to anything that has happened. As I said, one bottom line on this one is that I never sent anybody and it is something you are so sure of it,” he said.
Cele said Mkhwanazi could have checked back if indeed he had sent the message to Matlala.
“He could have checked that this person never sent a (message) since we knew each since 2009. How would he in a short space of time begin to do such things and all of that? But this is the point I take that human beings are fallible and I will live with that and I will accept that,” he said.
Earlier, DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach noted that Mkhwanazi had acted as the national commissioner but never got the job when Riah Phiyega landed the role.
Breytenbach asked Cele if Mkhwanazi would like the job amid speculation that some of the infighting within the top brass of the SAPS was due to the position set to be vacant when incumbent General Fannie Masemola vacates office in 2027.
In response, Cele said Mkhwanazi has time and again indicated that he would like to retire on completion of his term as the provincial commissioner.
“But there is nothing that has validated the statement. There is no different statement that has come from him,” he said.
