Members of Parliament have urged the parliamentary ad hoc committee investigating allegations of corruption and external interference within the South African Police Service to summon witnesses to testify at the hearings.
They said this as the committee, chaired by Soviet Lekganyane, will resume its work on Wednesday and conclude proceedings on February 6 to allow sufficient time for the compilation of its final report.
Witnesses expected to appear include controversial North West businessman Brown Mogotsi, crime expert Paul O’Sullivan, spy boss Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo, among others.
Firm action on those avoiding process
EFF leader Julius Malema called for firm action against witnesses who may be evading the process.
“We must use the powers we have to summon O’Sullivan, the same goes for Brown Mogotsi. We need to find a way, decisively, to deal with them,” Malema said.
Vusi Shongwe of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) Party warned against delays, particularly with key witnesses.
“We are supposed to finish in February but it would be a big mistake if we do what Paul O’Sullivan says. I did suggest that we take this person’s passport because he will skip the country. And we have now been told that he is in London.
“South Africans want people to be arrested. I suggest we arrest the few that we know have a problem,” Shongwe said.
He said there’s a lot that the committee needs to probe.
Focused on results, not deliberations
“This committee is a necessity, it doesn’t waste money like the commission. We shouldn’t be like the other administration, we need to show the results.”
Lekganyane said the committee is under severe time constraints. It would not be able to allocate two days to some of the witnesses expected to appear before it.
“The committee does not have time to allocate two days for some witnesses,” he said.
He added that Mondays would not be used for hearings.
The inquiry stems from allegations made in July by KwaZulu-Natal police boss Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. He raised concerns about corruption and political interference within the criminal justice system.
Lekganyane told the meeting that the committee had received a substantial number of written submissions from members of the public and stakeholders.
Oral evidence to resume mid-January
These submissions allege political and external interference in policing functions. Also in corruption, intimidation, fear of reprisals and limited protection for whistleblowers.
The committee is expected to hear oral evidence from witnesses once hearings resume in mid-January. This will occur before it tables its report in February.
Closing the discussion, Lekganyane emphasised the responsibility of the committee to the public.
“We have to do our work in the name of the parliament of the republic. We must not [ignore] public submissions,” he said.
