If anything happens to me, Masemola will be responsible - Nkabinde

Nkabinde briefed the media in Sandton on Thursday, accusing Masemola of attempting to intimidate him ahead of his planned testimony at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into political interference and corruption in the criminal justice system. 

He said a group of 15 to 20 police officers, wearing balaclavas and carrying high-calibre rifles, showed up at his home on Wednesday evening. 

"They entered my flat and they thought my brother was myself, and they demanded to search the flat without showing any warrant or any search warrant," said Nkabinde. 

"When [my] brother asked them to show a search warrant, they started to assault him with the firearm's but. They started to assault him, thinking it was me, asking about where the search warrant was because they could not show the search warrant, and then they started to search my flat upside down until my brother had to produce his identity document to show that it was not me."

Nkabinde said that after realising he was not in the home, the police officers inquired about his whereabouts. 

"They started to ask my brother, 'Do you see what is happening on TV?' Then my brother said to them, 'No, I hardly watch television'."

"Then they demanded my brother take them to show where I was, and my brother said he thinks I'm at the nearest estate. Then they forced him against his will, they dragged him down from the third floor, they dragged him to the cars, assaulting him again, forcing him to go and show where I was after they finished searching the house. Then they went to the estate where I was, and unfortunately, they could not gain access."

He said that when they took his brother back to the flat, they complained that they had come all the way from KwaZulu-Natal "for nothing".

He alleges the same police officers showed up the next day at the home of Minister Mchunu. 

Nkabinde said he contacted his lawyers as he feared for his life.

"Then my lawyers conducted or engaged an ad hoc committee in Parliament, which is sitting as we speak, to report this harassment and intimidation because I'm one of the witnesses in that process. Then, coincidentally, the National Commissioner is present today in the ad hoc committee, and the evidence leader had to engage the National Commissioner about what my lawyers related to them.

"The evidence leader came back to my lawyers and said, the national commissioner confirmed that, yes, indeed, he knows that those police officers with balaclavas, even though he never mentioned like that, I know those police, they were there to execute search and seizure warrants because they are looking to get our mobile phones and our laptops so that they can get evidence, they can start downloading them."

He said he fears that evidence on their digital devices might be compromised if police seize them.

"We are preparing to go and present ourselves to an ad hoc committee, and while we are busy preparing, this harassment is starting, this intimidation is starting. Our gadgets now have to be seized?"

"The very same gadgets that contain evidence that we are going to use during the Madlanga Commission and other committees in Parliament. So the question is, the timing is questionable. Isn't it that they want to remove the evidence from our gadgets? Because we've got a very, very valuable evidence that we want to present in the commission and other committees."

He said that after these incidents, he has become fearful and would only be willing to engage with the police if his lawyers are present. 

"I'm appealing to the National Commissioner to engage my lawyer if they want to come and conduct their search.

"Or even an arrest if they've got any evidence against me, of which I doubt. That's what I instructed my lawyers to do, to engage the Office of the National Commissioner, to relay the same frustration and also to relay my instruction to my lawyers that I am available but through my lawyers." 

"I want to tell South Africans that should anything happen to me, the National Commissioner, General [Fannie] Masemola, will be responsible."

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