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ActionSA expresses outrage that members of the Ad Hoc Committee have had to learn through media reports that witnesses have been improperly called to appear before the Committee tasked with investigating the allegations made by Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. This has been done without consultation, without adherence to due process, and in direct contradiction to the Terms of Reference adopted by the Committee.

Clause 5.5.6 of the finalised Terms of Reference expressly provides that the collective of the Committee, and not the Chairperson acting unilaterally, shall determine the sequencing and appearance of witnesses who are to give evidence before the committee. 

ActionSA rejects any attempt to treat this as an ex post facto exercise whereby the Chairperson independently engages with witnesses and arranges appearances without prior deliberation by the Committee, only for members to be informed afterwards, or worse, to discover such developments through the media. We believe this is procedurally defective, ultra vires the adopted Terms of Reference, and inconsistent with the principles underpinning the Committee’s mandate as defined therein.

Fundamentally, ActionSA has consistently cautioned against placing unchecked authority in the hands of a Chairperson, especially one who belongs to the very political party whose members feature prominently as the subjects of these allegations. Our concern has always been that this creates a fertile environment for abuse, where Chairs steamroll committees and undermine their mandate of oversight. What has unfolded today confirms the dangers we warned against and cannot be condoned.

ActionSA will be studying the matter and determining our next steps to protect the integrity of the Committee’s work and to ensure that its proceedings are not compromised by such actions.

Issued by ActionSA Member of Parliament Dereleen James