New allegations have emerged before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry regarding an alleged plot to discredit KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
Testifying before the inquiry on Friday, Hawks Lieutenant-Colonel Deena Govender claimed he was targeted as a pawn in a broader political and operational scheme designed to target Mkhwanazi by linking him to extrajudicial killings in the province.
Govender’s testimony follows accusations from Len John, an official from the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, regarding his involvement in KZN police killings and illicit payments, which he denies.
In his evidence, Govender detailed how suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu allegedly directed him to implicate Mkhwanazi in the killings.
He also stated that a political fixer tried to impress upon him the importance of the issue by claiming he could arrange a meeting with “number one”, who he understood to refer to the president of the country.
The latest claims of alleged interference by Mchunu could compound his legal troubles and complicate his political ambitions as they come after another commission witness alleged earlier this year that he attempted to influence his evidence.
Earlier this year, an undercover operative designated as Witness E testified that similar pressure tactics were deployed to force the false incrimination of Crime Intelligence Head Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo.
Witness E presented an automatically recorded Truecaller call log substantiating claims that state actors attempted to dictate prefabricated statements to the commission.
Despite numerous calls for Mchunu to be axed in light of the allegations, President Cyril Ramaphosa has indicated that he will only deal with the matter after he has received the commission’s final report.
Mchunu has also not made any public statement in the hours after Govender’s appearance before the commission as testimony resumes on Monday. Govender testified that he was approached by individuals acting as political fixers, identifying one of them as Mavuso Ntandane, who allegedly pressured him to falsely implicate Mkhwanazi.
He said that Ntandane suggested that 172 cases under investigation would be pinned on him and that he would be facing a life sentence.
“To convince me he made a phone call to Minister Senzo Mchunu, the Minister of Police, who spoke to me,” Govender told the commission. According to Govender, prior to the handoff, Ntandane told the minister that Govender was apprehensive about moving against senior leadership.
“He says to me that I am under the impression that Nhlanhla (Mkhwanazi) is close to number one, which is the president. Thereafter, he passed his phone to me where I spoke to the minister. I recognised his voice because I met him twice before and I know him,” Govender testified.
Govender alleged that the minister asked him about his family and stated, “we must not let anyone ruin this country.” He alleged that Mchunu also instructed him to tell the commission that he had received directives from Mkhwanazi relating to police shootings in the province.
An audio recording of a telephone exchange between Govender and Ntandane was played during the proceedings late Friday afternoon. In the recording, Ntandane suggests that Govender meet with “number one”.
“I think one of my options on my side, I have connections direct with number one of the country. I think number one of the country must take you and sit down with you without telling anyone. Everyone knows you were doing a good job in KZN. You can’t suffer alone. The cases, there are 172, each case is a life sentence. So they are going to make you suffer,” said a voice attributed to Ntandane on the call.
When pressed by Govender on who was pulling the strings, the person alleged to be Ntandane responded: “I know you are going through a lot. It’s big people, politicians, drug dealers.”
When explicitly asked why Mkhwanazi was in the crosshairs, Govender was told that the architects of the plot wanted him “thrown under the bus.”
Political analyst Goodenough Mashego said Ntandane’s statement to Govender that “number one of the country must take you and sit down with you” was worth investigating as it suggested that Ramaphosa may have been aware of the goings-on in law-enforcement authorities.
He said the statement is telling because it suggests to Govender that Ramaphosa “might protect you if you protect Minister Mchunu.” He added that Ramaphosa only extended the deadline for the commission’s hearings due to public pressure.
Asked if Ramaphosa may be called to testify, Mashego said: “I don’t know if the law will allow the president, as someone who appointed the commission, to appear before it, given that the same commission report will be handed over to him.”