“We’re letting the country down”: Malema and MK Party question Mkhwanazi’s statement

Parliament’s Ad Hoc committee got off to a rocky start on Tuesday, 7 October, after Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema raised concerns about KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s statement.

The statement in question was originally presented to the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference, and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System, known as the Madlanga Commission.

STATEMENT QUESTIONED

Malema told Parliament that the Ad Hoc Committee is not a sub-committee of the Madlanga Commission and therefore does not possess a “dedicated statement” from Mkhwanazi. He argued that the document in question was a supplementary statement, and said Mkhwanazi had no basis to take an oath before the committee.

“We repeatedly said we cannot use the statement of the Commission. We are not a junior of the Commission,” Malema said, adding that using a statement prepared for the Madlanga Commission in Parliament was both “wrong and unconstitutional.”

“We have to do things properly,” the EFF leader insisted.

♦️Must Watch♦️

CIC @Julius_S_Malema exposes legal irregularities in the Ad Hoc Committee, rejecting the idea that a “supplementary statement” can serve as an original submission to Parliament.

Presidential Malema holds the legal team accountable for misleading the process,… pic.twitter.com/2gx71QOGn1

— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) October 7, 2025

Committee chairperson Molapi Lekganyane agreed with Malema’s sentiments, saying the statement must be an original submission to Parliament. However, the committee’s evidence leader, Advocate Norman Arendse, disputed the claim, insisting the statement was not supplementary.

Malema responded sharply, saying he had no confidence in Arendse.

uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party Member of Parliament David Skosana backed Malema, calling the proceedings “unacceptable.”

“We’re letting the country down. It’s like we don’t know what we are doing,” Skosana said.

PROCEEDINGS ADJOURNED

Following the heated exchanges, Lekganyane adjourned the committee.

Earlier, during a media briefing, Arendse confirmed that Mkhwanazi’s statement had been finalised, noting that the process of finalising such statements was “not easy.”

DO YOU THINK MALEMA WAS RIGHT TO CHALLENGE MKHWANAZI’S STATEMENT IN PARLIAMENT?