Frustrated MPs accuse Mchunu of dishonesty

Grilled him on PKTT, SAPS and his alleged connections to Matlala

- THEOLIN TEMBO

MEMBER of Parliament (MP) Dereleen James has voiced her frustrations with how her questioning of suspended Minister Senzo Mchunu went yesterday, feeling like he was unable to answer a simple question that she posed.

James, from ActionSA, was the second MP of the day to question Mchunu as he appeared at Parliament's Ad Hoc Committee investigating the allegations made by SAPS KwaZulu-Natal provincial head Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi for a fourth day.

She grilled him on a host of matters ranging from an operational budget of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), its duties, the environment within the SAPS, and his alleged connections with Brown Mogotsi and Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.

Her questioning was deemed as being so intensive that the committee Chairperson, Molapi Soviet Lekganyane, said: “I want to request you, Honourable James, not to breathe heavily on the neck of the witness. Footsteps are allowed in a race, but when you breathe heavily on the neck of the witness, that may distract their train of thought. I just want to request that you do not breathe heavily on the neck of the witness.”

James said: “I think I'm very frustrated. Two things: the fact that I know that I have a limited time, and the fact that you have to ask one question five times, which obviously seeps into your time for your remaining questions.