Mosikili to appear before ad hoc committee probing interference claims
Deputy National Commissioner for Policing Tebello Mosikili is expected to appear before an ad hoc committee of Parliament on Tuesday as the hearings into alleged political interference in the justice system continue.
Her appearance forms part of the committee’s ongoing inquiry following allegations made last year by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who questioned decisions affecting specialised investigations into organised crime and political killings.
Addressing Members of Parliament, Advocate SC Norman Arendse confirmed Mosikili’s scheduled testimony and explained why the committee considers her evidence significant.
"Just in relation to the schedule, tomorrow (Tuesday), we have Lieutenant General Mosikili. Lieutenant General Mosikili will appear. A statement has been made available to the Honourable Committee members for some time now.
"You may recall that her attendance was required because she served as the Acting National Commissioner for a brief period when General (Fannie) Masemola was on leave, and the directive from Minister Mchunu was brought to her attention on and after 31 December 2024."
The committee is examining claims that decisions taken within the police leadership may have influenced investigations into organised crime networks and politically linked killings.
During a media briefing in July last year, Mkhwanazi questioned the role of Police Minister Senzo Mchunu in dissolving a political killings task team, which he said had been making significant progress.
He further alleged that Deputy National Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya took control of 121 case dockets linked to political killings without proper authorisation.
"This was done without the instructions of the national commissioner, nor I, as the provincial commissioner. These dockets have, since March, been sitting at the head office, without work being done on them," Mkhwanazi said.
"Five of these dockets had already instructions to arrest perpetrators, but nothing has been done because a lieutenant general, Sibiya, executing the instructions of the minister, withdrew all these dockets and is sitting in his office in Pretoria. God knows why."
Mkhwanazi also alleged that individuals across several state institutions were linked to organised crime networks, claims he said emerged during investigations involving cooperation between provincial units.
"I can tell you now as South Africans that this decision was the cause of the disbandment letter of this team because they overstepped the mandate on focusing only in KZN," he said, referring to the deployment of investigators to support operations outside the province.
He further claimed that an alleged associate of the minister had access to sensitive information.
"Mogotsi also sent a screenshot of a presentation that was made on the 24th of September 2024. It was titled 2024/25 Division Crime Intelligence Policies. Surely this was classified information where crime intelligence was presenting their policies? This man had access to this, and he is not a policeman," Mkhwanazi told reporters.
He questioned the rationale behind disbanding the specialised unit.
"Even in Parliament, we say we do not know the minister’s reason to disband the team because the team’s work speaks for itself. On a frequent basis, the previous ministers used to brief the media on the work that the team is doing. Now this new administration has not done that, and we see a letter suddenly asking for a disbandment."
Sibiya has strongly rejected the allegations, saying he is prepared to challenge them legally.
"What Lieutenant General Mkwanazi is doing is embarrassing," Sibiya said in an interview.
"There are procedures to follow when you feel like you are not being heard. But we will not stoop to his level. All I can say is I will prove, word for word, that what he said is not true."
Mosikili’s testimony is expected to focus on events during her period as acting national commissioner and the directive she reportedly received at the end of 2024 — a development lawmakers believe could shed further light on decision-making within police leadership.
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