Cape Town -Minister Bheki Cele has dismissed claims by the EFF that he had informed them about the alleged plot by senior IFP leaders to assassinate the party’s secretary-general Marshall Dlamini.
Cele said he could not have conveyed information to the political parties in KwaZulu-Natal about the alleged assassination because he did not have it.
Earlier this week, the EFF claimed it had received information from SAPS that senior leaders of the IFP were plotting to assassinate Dlamini because they allegedly believed he was solely responsible for their decision to support removal of IFP mayors in KwaZulu-Natal.
In response, the IFP rubbished the allegation as “another dose of sensationalist, unsubstantiated and fabricated allegations about the IFP”.
EFF leader Julius Malema, responding to a tweet, said Dlamini was “called by Minister of Police Mr Bheki Cele to inform him about the threat on his life by the IFP leadership”.
In an interview after the parade of law enforcement agencies ahead of the Sona in Cape Town on Thursday, Cele said he wanted to “put content and context” on the matter.
He said he had received information from Nongoma on January 30 that there was intention of changing the government that councillors would be voting for.
“They requested that there should be extra protection because they fear that their lives could be in danger,” he said.
Cele said he was briefed on February 4 that leading to the election, that there might be escalation and raising of political temperature in KwaZulu-Natal.
“For that reason there was a request that we engage the political leadership so that we can take them through and work on prevention matters with a history of the province well known when it comes to political killings.”
He said he had called political leaders of the IFP, ANC and EFF, but could not contact the NFP, whom he had planned to engage later.
“The issue of rising political temperature was raised. That is the information that was given to all leaders,” he said.
“There is no other information that the minister had that goes to the specific individuals as victims or as perpetrators, and for the fact that the minister did not have that information could not have conveyed the information he does not have. That is the story,” Cele said.
Pressed if he did not deal specifically with the issue of Dlamini in the meeting with political leaders, Cele denied that he dealt with any information that involved the safety of any individuals.
“The matter is on, people talk about it. Indeed, the police will have to investigate that, but from the Minister of Police, it was a generic kind of discussion of the rising of political temperature.
“Individuals, either for assassination or as any form of victim, were not raised by the Minister of Police because he did not have that information.
“He could not have conveyed the information he did not have,” Cele said.
Cape Times