Suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy
Suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s chief of staff, Cedrick Nkabinde, alleged on Thursday that national commissioner Fannie Masemola ordered a raid on his home to seize mobile devices containing evidence he plans to present before the Madlanga commission.
KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who has made allegations of political interference against Mchunu, testified at the commission that Nkabinde sent the letter to disband a task team on political killings, which had been signed off by the minister.
Mkhwanazi also said Nkabinde confirmed Mchunu’s association with North West businessman Brown Mogotsi.
On Thursday, Nkabinde told a media briefing that Mogotsi and Mchunu were not associates, even though they attended similar events.
He said the search and seizure targeted devices, including mobile phones belonging to himself and Mchunu. He claimed the purpose of the operation was to delete crucial evidence that would disprove Mkhwanazi’s allegations.
Nkabinde said about 15 to 20 police officers wearing balaklavas and carrying high-calibre rifles conducted the search and seizure at his home, and that they assaulted his brother after they found him there.
“And they demanded to search the flat without showing any warrant. When my brother is asking them to show a search warrant, they started to assault him with the firearms,” said Nkabinde.
“They started to search my flat upside down. Until my brother had to produce his identity document to show that it was not him, that is when they stopped assaulting him.”
He said the officers then demanded that his brother take them to where Nkabinde was.
“My brother said he thought I was at the nearest estate, then they forced him against his will,” he said. “They dragged him down from the third floor to the cars, assaulting him again and forcing him to go and show where I was after they finished searching the house.”
Nkabinde said the officers then went to the estate where he was staying, but could not gain access and had to drive back to drop off his brother.
“And on the way, they were saying they cannot come all the way from KZN for nothing. ‘We must get the chief of staff’,” he said.
According to Nkabinde, the officers told his brother that they were sent by Masemola “to come and look for the chief of staff”.
“Then they went back to my flat, where they dropped my brother off in pain, terrified, traumatised. That is when he got a chance to contact me. Then he relayed the story of what happened,” said Nkabinde.
The following morning, at around 7am, the same officers allegedly arrived at Mchunu’s official residence.
“They were there at the gate of minister Mchunu’s residence, and then they parked there trying to gain entry. And then when we arrived there, they were gone,” said Nkabinde.
He said his lawyers contacted parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating police corruption to report what he described as harassment and intimidation.
“And the evidence leader came back to my lawyers and said, the national commissioner confirmed that, yes, indeed, he knows that those police officers with balaclavas, even though he never mentioned like that, I know those officers, they were there to execute search and seizure warrants because they are looking to get mobile phones and laptops so that they can get evidence,” said Nkabinde.
“As we were giving impressions on 6 July when the general (Mkhwanazi) had that media briefing, we had an impression that they do have evidence. Now, from 6 July until today, after so many months, they still have to get such warrants and get our mobile phones,” said Nkabinde.
“They still do their witch-hunt, fishing. It means it was not correct that they do have evidence.”
He said he and Mchunu were preparing to appear before both the Madlanga commission and parliament’s ad hoc committee.
“The very same gadgets that evidence that we are going to use during the Madlanga commission and ad hoc committee in parliament. So the timing is questionable,” he said, accusing Masemola and Mkhwanazi of wanting to remove the evidence from the phones.
“We’ve got very, very valuable evidence that we want to present at the ad hoc committee. General Masemola, General Mkhwanazi, they are busy there at the committee. At the same time, they are sending police to come and harass us so that they can remove our gadgets with our evidence while we are also preparing to appear in that commission,” he said.
He said he was arranging with his lawyers to engage both the Madlanga commission and the ad hoc committee to ensure the gadgets are kept safe until their hearings.
“We are now seeing that evidence contained in those gadgets is at risk of being removed,”
Nkabinde said, adding that he did not feel safe.
“If they come to search and seize anything, I want my lawyer to be present. And I want to tell South Africans that should anything happen to me, the national commissioner, General Masemola, will be responsible.”