By Dylan Bettencourt
- ANC MP Molapi Soviet Lekganyane will lead the team after Malema said he is not available to take the job.
- The team will look into claims that top police bosses tried to stop work on political killings in KwaZulu-Natal.
Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema has refused to lead a group of MPs who will investigate serious claims of corruption in the police.
The claims were made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi at a press briefing last month.
Mkhwanazi said that Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and top crime detective Shadrack Sibiya tried to shut down the team that investigates political killings. He said they did this to protect people with political connections.
Parliament has now set up a special committee to look into these claims.
At the committee’s first meeting on Tuesday, ANC chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli nominated Molapi Soviet Lekganyane, another ANC MP, to lead it. Lekganyane accepted.
MK Party MP David Mandla Skosana then nominated Malema, but he quickly turned it down.
“Thanks for the nomination, but I am not available,” Malema said.
Lekganyane was chosen without a vote.
The MPs will now start their work. They have 90 days to finish the investigation, but more time can be given if needed.
They also asked for help from outside legal and forensic experts to do the job properly.
A separate commission, led by former judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga, will also look into the same claims. It will focus on corruption and interference in the police, the National Prosecuting Authority and the State Security Agency.
The Madlanga commission will give a first report in three months and a full report in six months.
Pictured above: Julius Malema.
Image source: File
