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Chief of Staff Cedric Nkabinde admitted before Parliament\u2019s ad hoc committee on Thursday that he was confused about the dates of meetings between Minister Senzo Mchunu and Brown Mogotsi.<\/p>\n
He said dates in his sworn affidavit were \u201cthumb-sucked dates\u201d because his electronic devices had been confiscated.<\/p>\n
Nkabinde told the committee that he could not be precise about when the meetings took place, saying he had relied on estimation when drafting his statement with the help of the evidence leaders.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was consulted by the evidence leader, I was upfront with them that it is so unfortunate that I can\u2019t be precise with dates because I don\u2019t have information with me because of gadgets,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I was advised to more or less think it could be when. So I made this reference based on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The confusion centred on whether the first meeting between Mchunu and Mogotsi occurred in September or between October and November 2024.<\/p>\n
Nkabinde initially stated that he had only received Mogotsi\u2019s contact details from the minister before facilitating a meeting in October or November.<\/p>\n
However, members pointed out contradictions with his own affidavit, in which he stated that Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi had called him in September 2024 about Mogotsi and later sent him the businessman\u2019s number.<\/p>\n
MK Party MP Sibonelo Nomvalo told the committee that Nkabinde\u2019s evidence was inconsistent.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr Nkabinde says in his statement he was called by General Mkhwanazi in September 2024, who asked him about Brown Mogotsi. He said to the General he knew Mogotsi as someone close to the Minister,\u201d said Nomvalo.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow he says he did not know Mogotsi until he was instructed by the Minister around October or November. There is a lot of contradiction that the witness is making.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nkabinde admitted that his affidavit could contain incorrect dates. \u201cI apologise to the committee that it could be not a correct version because there was nothing assisting me in recollecting,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
He insisted that he had informed the evidence leaders of his uncertainty. He further explained that he believed the meeting between Mchunu and the under-fire North West businessman, Mogotsi happened before the September 30 trip to Lusikisiki.<\/p>\n
\u201cGuided by the call of General (KZN provincial police commissioner Nhlanhla) Mkhwanazi, if that date is correct, the meeting with Brown Mogotsi would have happened before that.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, the shifting timeline angered several MPs. EFF leader Julius Malema accused Nkabinde of misleading Parliament.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are being given thumb-sucked information here in front of the nation and we must accept that?\u201d Malema asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you are under oath. Some of these things are going to come across as being lies under oath. This information written here is not worth the paper it\u2019s written on, because it\u2019s thumb-sucked.\u201d<\/p>\n
Malema added that Nkabinde should withdraw the affidavit and draft a new one, saying, \u201cYou are deliberately misleading us. Once you start shifting it around, it\u2019s no longer the original affidavit before us here.\u201d<\/p>\n
ANC MP Mdumiseni Ntuli pressed Nkabinde to explain why he chose to specify October and November in his statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat makes you decide to place October and November?\u201d Ntuli asked. Nkabinde said that he had been \u201cguided to estimate\u201d because he could not access his phone.<\/p>\n
Ntuli then confirmed that, based on Nkabinde\u2019s revised account, \u201cthe first meeting between the Minister and Mr Brown would have taken place before the 30th of September.\u201d<\/p>\n
ActionSA MP Dereleen James expressed frustration, questioning the value of continuing the testimony.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve given us a sworn statement. You have sworn this morning. You now come and say you have thumb-sucked dates,\u201d she said. \u201cAre we really meant to probe further on a statement that is not truthful?\u201d<\/p>\n
”We need to connect the dots, and when you’re sitting there telling us it could have been two months prior or later, that is not even close,” she said. <\/p>\n
MK Party\u2019s David Skosana said he was disappointed that Nkabinde was unsure of his own statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is upon you, before you sign, that this is a true reflection of what was discussed with the consultation team,\u201d he said. \u201cYou are supposed to read it. Because now we are speculating November, December.\u201d<\/p>\n
EFF MP Leigh-Ann Mathys warned that the contradictions amounted to perjury. \u201cWe must note that this is not just an oversight hearing ,it\u2019s perjury,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou even have attorneys, so it was deliberate. It also speaks to your credibility. You did an entire report about the IPID executive director. If you don\u2019t pay attention to something between five paragraphs on dates, it\u2019s intentional and it is perjury.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nkabinde maintained that he had been transparent with the evidence leaders about his uncertainty. \u201cI was truthful and open,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there are discrepancies in dates, it\u2019s because I had no help recollecting accurate information from my gadgets, which have not been returned to me for months.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite his apology, several MPs insisted that the inconsistencies undermined the credibility of his testimony and the integrity of the committee\u2019s work.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot rely on a misleading statement,\u201d said Nomvalo. \u201cOtherwise, we are turning this into a talk show.\u201d<\/p>\n
The EFF has since opened a perjury case against Nkabinde at the Cape Town Police station. <\/p>\n
hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za<\/p>\n
Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Chief of Staff Cedric Nkabinde admitted before Parliament\u2019s ad hoc committee on Thursday that he was confused about the dates of meetings between Minister Senzo Mchunu and Brown Mogotsi. He said dates in his sworn affidavit were \u201cthumb-sucked dates\u201d because his electronic devices had been confiscated. Nkabinde told the committee that he could not be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":261322,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[19677,5768,2757,19679,2938,18915,19678],"class_list":["post-261321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-politics","tag-039thumb","tag-admits","tag-dates","tag-mchunumogotsi","tag-meeting","tag-nkabinde","tag-sucked039"],"yoast_head":"\n