Johannesburg - The heads of several police generals, including the national spokesman’s, could roll following the decision by Parliament’s portfolio committee on police to meet the executive authority to ensure a change in the service’s leadership.
The committee adopted on Friday the terms of reference for a parliamentary inquiry it has launched to establish whether national and provincial police management lied to it.
The inquiry, to be undertaken in terms of National Assembly Rule 201, is to look at whether police management, including provincial commissioners, told the truth when they appeared before the committee to explain the controversial press statement they released on August 1 in support of national Commissioner Riah Phiyega.
The decision was announced by committee chairman Francois Beukman after a meeting at which MPs grilled police spokesman Lieutenant-General Solomon Makgale about his not having acted on the committee’s order that he retract the statement of support for Phiyega.
The statement had been issued after Zuma asked Phiyega to give reasons why she should not face a board of inquiry into her fitness to hold office, a step recommended by the commission of inquiry into the Marikana massacre
When the provincial commissioners appeared before it on August 12, the committee criticised them for the statement, saying they had overstepped their mandate and entered the political fray, undermining President Jacob Zuma, who was then considering instituting a board of inquiry into Phiyega’s fitness to hold office.
The committee ordered them to apologise and retract their statement. Instead, Makgale issued another statement on behalf of the commissioners.
Beukman said: “We heard there was a concerted effort not to follow that instruction. We will have to change (the leadership structure) and we will have that conversation with the executive authority within coming weeks.”
Members of the committee accused Makgale of being untruthful and disrespectful.
Livhuhani Mabija (ANC) said Makgale was not being honest with them.
Makgale went to great lengths to try to explain how the second statement, “misrepresenting” the committee, had come to be issued.
The committee said that it was not happy with his responses and would complain to the police minister.
Makgale denied he wrote the second statement. He said the provincial commissioners had drafted it, without coercion from Phiyega. He had merely issued it.
It later emerged that not all nine of the commissioners had signed off on the statement.
“All the provincial commissioners indicated to me in writing that they agree with the statement, with the exception of the provincial commissioner of the Free State,” Makgale said.
“When I had a discussion with him on the phone, he indicated to me he discussed the statement with one other provincial commissioner and that he was comfortable with it. An hour later, he then sent me an SMS to indicate his discomfort.”
Makgale told MPs the meeting that decided on the statement being issued had been informal one, and Phiyega was present.
He denied Phiyega had influenced commissioners to issue the statement.
Risimati Mavunda (ANC) said: “I just imagined the type of meeting held in a shebeen. There is no order, and there is no chairperson, and everybody is talking to everybody.”
Leonard Ramatlakane(ANC) suggested someone was being “economical with the truth”.
Makgale responded: “I must say I’m disturbed to be accused of lying.”
Beukman said the committee was concerned that its recommendations to police management were not being taken seriously. He suggested a meeting with the Police Ministry to discuss this.
“Today’s proceedings warrant us as a committee to enter into discussions with the executive authority to indicate there are serious problems in our analysis with corporate governance within SAPS,” said Beukman.
“We at the portfolio committee are not going to accept a situation where there is not seriousness with our recommendations.”
The statements issued by Makgale would form the basis of a parliamentary inquiry initiated by the committee. The inquiry is to take place in October, and the commissioners and Phiyega’s national deputies are to be called to testify. The MPs have subpoenaed the electronic and paper trails leading to the statements.
The terms of reference for the inquiry include, among others, that it establish whether
the statements were made in compliance with the National Instruction 156 (dealing with police media communications), and whether the officers’ conduct was in line with the principles of good governance.
* Additional reporting by African News Agency
The Sunday Independent