The newly elected Chairperson of the Ad Hoc Committee to Investigate Allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkwanazi, Soviet Lekganyane, has assured the nation that he will conduct himself in a fair and unbiased manner.
This after some members of the committee raised concerns that they are not happy with an ANC member chairing the committee probing Mkhwanazi’s allegations. Lekganyane was elected unopposed, after the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema turned down the nomination from uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) to lead the committee.
“My greatest hope and optimism are that we would execute our responsibilities in accordance with the law of this country and the desires of the people of the republic. There is no law of the ANC which is going to work here. I was not sworn here through the law of the ANC, there is only one law, which we use to swear-in members of parliament. That is the law of the Republic of South Africa,” said Lekganyane in his opening remarks.
The chairperson implored members to put their political differences aside and focus on the grave allegations made by Mkhwanazi. In addition, Lekganyane reminded the committee that the public distrust in parliament is at its lowest, highlighting that it is through such committees, that can help bring back public confidence to the institution.
“South Africans, if we look at the surveys that have been done previously, are losing confidence in public institutions, including parliament.I think the last survey that I saw done by Afrobarometer was saying that the confidence of South Africans in parliament is at 27%.It’s up to us, all of us sitting here, to say those confidence ratings or those confidence levels, is that what we represent, or do they represent us as members of parliament?” asked Lekganyane.
According to parliament, the committee is tasked to investigate the veracity and implications of all the allegations made by Mkhwanazi about organs of state and criminal syndicates operating in the country.
Meanwhile, some committee members lambasted the Parliament Legal Services opinion that allegations made by Mkhwanazi, were technically not evidence, and must probed further.
“What Lieutenant-General Mkhwanazi said on 6 July 2025 was not evidence in a technical sense. Of course, one would need a legal person to go around speaking to people, who will be able to corroborate what Lieutenant-General Mkhwanazi said. The committee can’t do that, and, of course, you need sworn statements from witnesses drafted and so on. That is the kind of work that will take place in the next two to three weeks,” said parliamentary legal advisor, Andile Tetyana.
The committee agreed that the draft terms of reference guiding its work must be finalised by August 8 and will meet the following week to discuss the terms of reference and programme.
