KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi says there can never be reconciliation between him and suspended deputy national police commissioner for crime detection Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya.
Mkhwanazi returned to parliament’s ad hoc committee on Wednesday to conclude his testimony and respond to counter-allegations made by previous witnesses.
The committee is investigating claims of corruption and political interference within the criminal justice system.
Mkhwanazi has linked Sibiya to corruption and the obstruction of justice, alleging that he ordered the seizure of 121 case dockets from the political killings task team (PKTT). Sibiya is further accused of having close ties to alleged crime cartels, including controversial businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
Based on evidence in his possession, Mkhwanazi said he believes Sibiya is a criminal.
“There cannot be peace between me and Sibiya,” he told the committee.
Senthumule cannot be trusted. I could not trust her in 2012, which is why I removed her from crime intelligence. I cannot trust her now as she appears before these commissions
— Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, KZNl police commissioner
The commissioner also took aim at acting deputy national commissioner for crime detection Lt-Gen Hilda Senthumule.
In her recent testimony, Senthumule suggested that suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu had overreacted by disbanding the PKTT without proper consultation.
Mkhwanazi dismissed her credibility.
“Senthumule cannot be trusted,” he said. “I could not trust her in 2012, which is why I removed her from crime intelligence. I cannot trust her now as she appears before these commissions.”
To support his claim, Mkhwanazi played an audio recording of a conversation between Senthumule and Sibiya regarding the transfer of PKTT dockets from KZN to Pretoria. He argued the recording proves Senthumule lied to the committee when she claimed to know nothing about the missing 121 dockets.
“She is a person you are expected to trust with your life. I still don’t understand how she attained her current position in the organisation.”
Mkhwanazi further questioned Senthumule’s professional conduct, comparing it with his own approach.
“That’s why I’m a police officer and Senthumule is not. I deal with facts; I don’t manufacture stories,” he said.
“Her entire career is in intelligence ... but regarding this criminal investigation, she failed to disclose her actions, which suggests she was part of the wrongdoing.”
He also questioned her rapid career progression, noting, “This is a person who has been moving up and down, promotion after promotion — I don’t know how she managed it.”
Mkhwanazi criticised Senthumule’s behaviour during her previous appearance, where she physically stood up to the committee to disprove rumours that she had received money from Matlala for cosmetic surgery.
“Senthumule comes here with her own agenda, and when she walks out, she acts like a celebrity,” Mkhwanazi said.
“She pretends to be doing good, but when you hear her speaking to Sibiya, you can tell she is not a good person. I removed her from crime intelligence in 2012 for a reason, yet nobody asked why.”
TimesLIVE
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