National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele says police have not yet found Crime Intelligence boss Lieutenant-General Richard Mdluli, after a warrant for his arrest was issued.

"We haven't yet (found him)," said Cele, at the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Police.

He said police had been asked to find him soon and Mdluli's attorney's had contacted police to hand him over on Monday.

"We have not agreed to this. We hope to find him sooner."

Police spokespeople have not wanted to say what the warrant was for.

The chairwoman of the committee said the law must be allowed to take its course on the matter.

"We have learnt with some concern of the intended arrest of General Mdluli. The charges are quite serious and we believe that where wrongdoing or crime has been suspected, the law must be allowed to take its course," said committee chairwoman Lydia Chikunga.

She said that it should be remembered that in South Africa people are considered innocent until proven guilty.

Law processes should be allowed to unfold freely without any interference "so that justice can be seen to be done in this case."

Chikunga said the committee would monitor the progress in the case.

Speculation

The Mail & Guardian reported last week that the Hawks were probing Mdluli and Gauteng crime intelligence boss Joey Mabasa over allegations that they interfered with the Hawks' investigation into Czech fraud accused Radovan Krejcir.

But newspaper reports on Thursday morning suggested that Mdluli was being investigated for the death of an ex-lover's husband who was shot dead in February 1999.

The slain husband, Oupa Ramogibe, apparently received death threats after marrying Mdluli's ex-lover. He was allegedly told to leave her or he would be killed.

At the time, Mdluli was station commander at Vosloorus police station, east of Johannesburg, reported Beeld.

The Afrikaans daily said that 14 family members close to the murder case were put into a witness protection programme last week.

Both Beeld and The Star reported that Mdluli was supposed to have handed himself over to police on Tuesday, but failed to do so. An accomplice, however, allegedly did hand himself over.

The City Press newspaper reported earlier in March that tensions between national police commissioner General Bheki Cele and Mdluli was "sky high" after two police "spies" raided the public protector's office.

Cele was reported to be livid when he found out about the "unannounced visit" to Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's Pretoria office.

Police management suspended the two counter-intelligence officers.

"An inside source told City Press that tension between Cele and Mdluli had been simmering for a while, with Mdluli being seen by Cele and his supporters as the last senior official left in the police from the Jackie Selebi era," the newspaper reported.

Mdluli was promoted from deputy head of Gauteng police to head of national crime intelligence on July 1 2009 by acting police chief Tim Williams.