Julius Malema Questions Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s Statement As Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee Probe Stalls

• Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee probing Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s allegations has got off to a terrible start after it was paused
• The hearings had to be paused after Julius Malema rose on a point of order regarding the police commissioner's statement
• The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader was unhappy that a supplementary statement was submitted before the committee

Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.

WESTERN CAPE – Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee probing Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s allegations has gotten off to a terrible start, with questions being raised about the statement made by the KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner.

The parliamentary hearings were scheduled to begin today, 7 October 2025, to probe the allegations made by General Mkhwanazi during his explosive press briefing in July.

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Before KZN’s top cop could even be sworn in to begin proceedings as the first witness, Julius Malema raised a point of order regarding the statement before the committee.

Malema questioned whether Mkhwanazi’s statement was original

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader questioned why the statement before the committee was supplementary if there was no original. He added that the general could not take an oath without a statement before the committee.

Other Parliamentarians also took issue with the supplementary statement, saying that an original should be submitted before Parliament. Evidence leader Norman Arendse tried to clarify that the supplementary statement was the original statement.

There was also an issue that the statement being used was the same one submitted to the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, with Members of Parliament saying that they did not play 'second fiddle' to the commission. The EFF and uMKhonto weSizwe Party also took issue with the way Arendse handled the matter, criticising the legal team for failing to secure a statement from the police commissioner.

While Mkhwanazi had testified before the commission already, Parliamentarians were adamant that they were not a subsection of the inquiry. They then asked for an adjournment so the issue could be resolved.

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While the plan was for a short break, so that General Mkhwanazi wouldn't have to be a part of the debate discussing a way forward, that wasn't the case. The Democratic Alliance's (DA) Ian Cameron later confirmed to the media that the matter would resume at 3 pm.

The lengthy break was to give the legal team time to edit the dockets and reflect that it is not a supplementary statement as it was worded, but in fact the original.

General van Rooyen criticises Parliament

Briefly News reported that Major-General Petronella Margaretha van Rooyen slammed Parliament for failing to act.

The Head of Legal Services of the police criticised Parliament for not doing anything when Mkhwanazi appeared before it.

South Africans were not surprised by Van Rooyen's statement, stating why they believed Parliament didn't act.

Source: Briefly News