Former police minister Bheki Cele has failed to respond to Parliament’s invitation to testify before the ad hoc committee investigating KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s explosive claims.
Cele was contacted on 8 September and given until 10 September to reply, but no response was received. Committee legal adviser Advocate Norman Arendse confirmed Cele is the only high-profile witness who has not made contact.
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Other senior figures — including Acting Minister Firoz Cachalia, Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola, and suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu — have already complied with requests.
Mkhwanazi Appearance Pushed Back
Mkhwanazi, the central figure in the probe, is unavailable as he prepares for testimony before the Madlanga Commission next week. His appearance before Parliament is now expected only after 21 September, fuelling tensions over the committee’s timeline.
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EFF leader Julius Malema accused powerful interests of blocking Mkhwanazi. “They use all manner of excuses to make sure that he does not appear before this committee,” he said, adding that Mkhwanazi must be subpoenaed.
Malema blasted Parliament for “playing junior” to the Madlanga Commission, calling it “toothless, not binding, and it can’t bite.”
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Frustration boiled over in the committee meeting. ActionSA’s Dereleen James said Parliament looked “completely toothless,” while EFF MP Leigh-Ann Mathys criticised the soft approach taken with Cele.
“We need to have a schedule… No nice letters of, ‘Please tell us when you are available, when you are coming back from Milan,’ etc,” Mathys said, urging stricter deadlines.
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Committee Chair Molapi Lekganyane announced plans to summon NPA head Shamila Batohi as a witness. But ANC Chief Whip Mdumiseni Ntuli pushed back against subpoenaing Mkhwanazi, saying it was premature — a stance supported by the DA, FF Plus and MK Party.
With Cele unresponsive and Mkhwanazi’s testimony delayed, the probe is sliding into political confrontation.
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