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A reply by the Minister of Police, Nathi Nhleko, to a DA parliamentary question is yet again evidence of the Minister’s unsuitability to hold office and his proclivity to compromise the truth instead of admitting his errors when they are exposed.

In this reply, Minister Nhleko claims that the permanent appointment of Hawks Head, Lt. Gen. Ntlemeza, was reported to Parliament, as required by section 17CA(3) of the SAPS Act, by way of a “parliamentary media briefing on 10 September” and “was subsequently tabled in Parliament through the office of the Speaker”. If he believes that the “parliamentary media briefing” was adequate, then it remains a mystery why he subsequently sent the letter to the Speaker to request a parliamentary condonation of the late notification.

As such the DA maintains that Ntlemeza’s appointment was irregular from the outset and we will request that the Portfolio Committee on Police establish an inquiry into this appointment without delay and to recommend that Ntlemeza’s appointment be terminated. Appreciating that the Minister serves at the pleasure of the President, we will also appeal to President Zuma to take appropriate disciplinary action against his Minister who has thwarted due process and the Rule of Law to satisfy narrow political ends.

We contend that it is not sufficient or acceptable for a Minister to fulfil his or her statutory reporting obligations to Parliament through a “media briefing”, and quite frankly embarrassing, that Minister Nhleko would think that he had followed adequate reporting requirements in doing so.

The subsequent tabling referred to in his reply, with a letter to the Speaker, happened a year late and was likely triggered by a DA parliamentary question submitted to the Minister’s office earlier this month asking if he had complied with appropriate national legislation, based on our suspicion that it had not been done. The submission of the year-late letter to Parliament by the Minister confirms this suspicion.

This reply is the latest attempt to hoodwink Parliament and the nation that his conduct is justified. This is mounted on a slew of adverse judicial findings against the Minister’s conduct including his irregular appointment of Ntlemeza who the North Gauteng High Court found to be “biased, dishonest and lack[ing] integrity and honour.”

Accordingly, Parliament and the President must take this reply and these judgements into account when contemplating the rationality of such an appointment emanating from the Minister’s “unlawful” conduct.

Minister Nhleko has become notorious for obfuscating the truth when it comes to his statutory obligations, most infamously for his ministerial report on Nkandla, in which he tried to refashion a recreational swimming pool as a security measure of a “firepool”.

Indeed, Minister Nhleko continues to show his disregard for the intelligence of the South African public by never having apologised for this deception, admitting his error and formally withdrawing the report. Instead, he has repeatedly and stubbornly said that he stands by his report and that he believes its technical findings remain correct.

The patience of the South African public is increasingly running thin for this puppet Police Minister who is more concerned with politicising the police service to protect President Zuma and his crony circle, instead prioritising its professionalisation. This is why violent and organised crime trends have continued to rise. It is becoming increasingly clear that if crime in our country is to fall, we need for Minister Nhleko and Berning Ntlemeza to fall first.

Issued by DA