Members of Parliament have raised their discomfort about using a supplementary statement by suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s chief of staff, Cedrick Nkabinde, after he returned to Parliament on Wednesday.
Proceedings at Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee investigating allegations made by SAPS KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, began with EFF MP Leigh-Ann Mathys raising the issue of the supplementary statement.
“We need clarity from the evidence leader why we have accepted a supplementary statement and whether it is legally sound and procedurally (sound)? The initial statement… we literally sent the witness home because we couldn’t continue with his statement, and then, when you actually read the supplementary statement, the witness is indicating very clearly that he produced this… last minute, the evidence leader wasn’t on time, so we also need to know if the witness is going to be prejudiced during this process,” Mathys questioned.
In response, Advocate Norman Arendse SC explained that Nkabinde’s supplementary affidavit addresses the issues of the specificity of dates and “yes, the supplementary affidavit may have come in late, it was also late for us, because we again only, this morning had the opportunity to consult Mr Nkabinde and his legal team”.
“We would respectfully submit that we are ready to proceed today, and Mr Nkabinde is here and willing to assist the committee.”
Speaking on the sidelines of the committee, Sibonelo Nomvalo, MP for the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), said that “it’s not clear whether we’re dealing with a supplementary statement or with a new statement with new amendments, amending the original statement”.
“But I think the demise in that regard should be attributed to the Senior Counsel because he, he is the one during consultations who must identify loopholes, grey areas, and legal technicalities, and guide witnesses accordingly.
“We believe that he should have done better. We are in this mess, we’re in this situation, or rather, we got ourselves in this mess because of a lack of proper legal guidance.”
Nomvalo added that Nkabinde is still making many contradictions, especially between his testimony and that of Minister Mchunu.
“He has a lot of information that he should have put in his statement to enlighten the committee about the deep-seated problems that are engulfing the SAPS. But, his statement has been very minimal in that it did not expose many things which can help this committee to probe, and go deeper, when it examines all the allegations that were levelled against some individuals.
“Ultimately, we will get all the information that we think is necessary for this investigation.”
Nomvalo also said Nkabinde’s answers referring to the email he sent to the Independent Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) requesting an investigation in connection with the Crime Intelligence Division, were “very vague and full of contradictions”.
“I remember, he said, the reason why he entertained the referral is because he realised, a person who made the referral, Mr (Fadiel) Adams, said he lost confidence in the national commissioner. You don’t just rely on what has been said to you at the first venue – you drill down, you go deeper, and see if really such assertions have a solid foundational support or if they are just made in pursuit of a particular agenda.
“At least what he was supposed to do, he was supposed to come with evidence here in this committee, and say, ‘Mr Adams wrote this letter on this day to the national commissioner, and the national commissioner failed to cooperate’.
“The IDAC boss, Advocate Andrea Johnson, came here empty-handed with absolutely nothing to prove, all the averments that she had put in her affidavit. She came empty-handed. She did not even bring the referral.
“At this stage, there is nothing that has been submitted by either IDAC or Mr Nkabinde, which is reflective of the fact that they followed the correct process when they arrested (Criminal Intelligence chief Lt-Gen Dumisani) Khumalo, and two, that the referral met all the standard requirements that it should meet.”
