KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has called on parliament to investigate the relationship between former investigator Paul O’Sullivan and former Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) boss Robert McBride during his tenure.
Mkhwanazi appeared before parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system on Wednesday. MPs had an opportunity to ask him about the allegations he made during the July 6 press briefing, in which he implicated senior law enforcement officials in interfering with police investigations.
When EFF leader Julius Malema asked him whether he thought O’Sullivan was one of the rogue elements destabilising the police service, Mkhwanazi said, “without a doubt”.
“I’m going to invite parliament through the structures of intelligence or security to look at McBride’s tenure as the head of Ipid,” Mkhwanazi said. “How they were interacting with O’Sullivan, the movements of money, the meeting venues, the cellphone locations, where they met and how they engaged in terms of the investigation.”
Mkhwanazi said he wanted O’Sullivan investigated because Cedric Nkabinde, who is the chief of staff at police minister Senzo Mchunu’s office, told him “the operations of Ipid were planned, co-ordinated, and executed at O’Sullivan’s house”.
Recently, Mkhwanazi initiated a defamation lawsuit against O’Sullivan, claiming damages of R5m.
Mkhwanazi said he also wanted to know about the “gadgets” bought in Johannesburg when deputy national police commissioner Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya was in charge of security in the city, and how the gadgets were sourced.
When Sibiya was Group Forensic Investigation Services (GFIS) head in the city, the GFIS lawfully procured anti-surveillance equipment.
Mkhwanazi further recommended an investigation into the purchase of a similar gadget that was bought by the Hawks in 2010, when Sibiya was working there at the time, and whether it was bought legally, as well as who the supplier and manufacturer of the items were.
“I want parliament to check every financial record of O’Sullivan and all individuals I have mentioned so that we’re able to trace and draw a conclusion about whether he is a clean man or an agent.
“If he’s a clean man, why does he do what he does? If he’s an agent, who is he working for?
“It is time for this country to not sit back and be run by O’Sullivan. If the government fails to act, the men and women in this country will take it upon themselves to do something drastic. It might not be what this government wants to do because it has gone too deep in showing that it has control over everything.”
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