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 Cops deny ministers are at war
    November 09 2009 at 11:27AM Get IOL on your
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By Political Bureau

While Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa and his deputy, Fikile Mbalula, have come out publicly to deny rivalry between them, the two are again set to separately address the media this week.

The Police Department has offered Parliament's Press Gallery Association a free breakfast in Cape Town with Mbalula on Thursday, in apparent disregard of the minister's wish that his deputy speak to the media only after an official briefing in which the minister will take part a day later.

Mthethwa is scheduled to brief the media on Friday as part of an official government briefing week organised as part of the cabinet's Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster by the Government Communication and Information System.
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The tensions and "petty rivalry" between the two politicians - both close to President Jacob Zuma - have apparently been so rife that Mthethwa, supported by police commissioner Bheki Cele, had put pressure on Mbalula to cancel a briefing with the National Press Club last Wednesday. This was soon after both Cele and Mthethwa called club chairman Yusuf Abramjee to find out what the briefing was about.

It is understood that the root of the turf war lies with their political ambitions, in line with earlier suggestions by the ANC Youth League that Mbalula - a former president of the league - was more senior. The league is among groups that have mooted Mbalula as a future ANC secretary-general.

Abramjee said yesterday that he had calls from both Cele and the minister last Tuesday to inquire what the deputy was up to. The minister suggested that he was "not dead" yet and therefore could not be replaced by his deputy.

"I must admit I found that rather strange, because it seems to me they only heard of the briefing on Tuesday," Abramjee said.


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Showing page 1 of 1 comment pages, 5 total comments
13 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
I suspect this alleged feud has nothing to do with what has been referred to as ‘crime combating.’ However, given the ‘big man’ mentality of both Mbalula and Mthethwa, manifesting itself in un-intellectual populist public statements, I am tempted to conclude that the entire saga is about, inter alia, power and basically whose balls hang the highest. What do others think?
13 Weeks ago Dr Joe wrote :
Book them in the same hotel room. Give them guns and let them apply the "shoot to kill" policy on each other.
13 Weeks ago Rev Deo Khoza JHB-CBD wrote :
I wish the Presidency could organize a three day seminar to give ministers, deputy ministers and other executives basic knowledge of body language in public, public speech, courtesy, diplomacy, hierachy etc..because to be a good leader in any political formation does make you an efficient and competent minister or deputy minister.In a political party you deal with your members- sympathisers with a certain ideology, but while in Government you represent the whole nation and should show more maturity,more responsibilty.Rev Deo Khoza-All Nations Christ's Ambassadors
13 Weeks ago Bigfoot wrote :
Book both of them into a room at the V&A Hotel for a week. They can sort out their differences at our expense.
13 Weeks ago zuks wrote :
Chickens are coming home to roost,they once were friends against an individual today its clear they never liked each other.Politics of patronage and greed is the order of the day and we are also paying now out of our pockets Julius Malemas private security guards dammit "Akunzima Kulamhlaba".If u differ with them politically u are subjected to name and political assasination...
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