Cape Town - National police spokesman Lieutenant-General Solomon Makgale has been ordered to appear before Parliament’s police committee next week as steps unfold towards an investigation into the police top provincial brass’ truthfulness over their controversial politicking in support of their embattled boss.
Parliamentary Rule 201 allows for such an investigation and, if it is instituted as insiders say was likely, it would be an unprecedented move.
Parliamentary Rule 138 allows MPs to summons any person or call for the production of any document.
The committee on Wednesday also demanded the original electronic recording, and the agenda and attendance register of the Magoebaskloof meeting where the provincial police commissioners in the presence of their boss, General Riah Phiyega, discussed their support for her.
The performance agreements of the provincial commissioners were requested.
As the police committee already received the minutes of that meeting, the request for the original sound recording is a sign of MPs’ concern the police were economical with the truth in their interactions with parliamentarians over the past two weeks.
Such concerns were bluntly and publicly aired by MPs earlier this week.
The Magoebaskloof meeting took place two weeks before the controversial statement supporting Phiyega was issued on August 1.
The statement came a day after Phiyega submitted reasons to President Jacob Zuma why she should keep her job.
The national police commissioner faces a board of inquiry after the Marikana commission of inquiry found she had misled it.
MPs have been united in their anger over the police’s move into politics, which they described as blurring the line between civil servants and politicians.
MPs also slated the public backing of Phiyega while the president applied his mind to a possible board of inquiry as undermining him.
Last week, the provincial police commissioners apologised to Zuma, parliamentarians and the country for their actions. However, the withdrawal of the controversial August 1 statement as ordered by MPs did not take place. Instead, a statement was issued to “correct misconceptions” and to repeat what MPs already had rejected; that the August 1 media release was merely to dispel media reports of disarray.
The initial controversial statement backing Phiyega was issued by Makgale, who also issued last week’s statement which sparked MPs’ ire as it inaccurately attributed views to the committee.
Both statements were issued on behalf of the board of commissioners, the structure the provincial police top brass sit on.
Meanwhile, police committee chairman, Francois Beukman, called for “serious reflection by the accounting officer (Phiyega)” on the SMS she sent to DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard after the parliamentarian was interviewed on television over last week’s police committee developments.
MPs sharply criticised that SMS earlier in the week.
While Phiyega acknowledged sending the SMS, she declined to comment further.
Political Bureau