ANC says police ministry has to respond to claims made against Mthethwa

THE ANC in KwaZulu-Natal said the Police Ministry will have to go to the Madlanga Commission on behalf of the late Ambassador Nathi Mthethwa to respond to allegations that he interfered in the work of police.

- WILLEM PHUNGULA [e-mail]

Mthethwa, a former Police and Sports, Arts and Culture Minister was found dead at the Hyatt Hotel in Porte Maillot in Paris two weeks ago after he went missing for a day — he is believed to have died in tragic circumstances after falling from the 22nd floor of the hotel.

Mthethwa was expected to be given a right of reply after he was mentioned in testimony by KwaZulu-Natal provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.

Mkhwanazi told the commission that during his tenure as an acting national police commissioner in 2011, Mthethwa, in his capacity as police minister, attempted to block the prosecution of the then police crime intelligence head Lieutenant-General Richard Mdluli.

Mdluli was accused of abuse of state resources and corruption involving the Crime Intelligence Unit's slush funds. According to Mkhwanazi, Mthethwa also ordered him to stop taking disciplinary action against Mdluli, which Mkhwanazi described as the worst interference he experienced in the work of the police.