MK Party, EFF clash over calling judges to Parly’s committee probing police graft

The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) clashed on Wednesday over whether members of the judiciary should appear before Parliament’s ad hoc committee probing police corruption.

The committee plans to call at least six more witnesses and to receive public submissions from 15 individuals and five civil society organisations before the end of January.

The EFF said it also wants parliamentarians, the Democratic Alliace (DA)’s Dianne Kohler-Barnard and the National Coloured Congress (NCC)’s Fadiel Adams, to respond to testimony given by witnesses regarding their alleged handling of Crime Intelligence information.

MK Party member David Skosana said Parliament’s ad hoc committee should not only probe allegations made against the police, but also consider a list of judges’ names that the party said it has submitted to the committee, which have not been made public.

The committee has already heard from members of the judiciary, including outgoing National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) head Shamila Batohi and Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) head Andrea Johnson.

“We need to have them here. It’s not only about the police. We have judgments which leave much to be desired. They are not a law unto themselves,” said Skhosana.

However, EFF leader Julius Malema said that while he remains critical of the judiciary, there is no substantial evidence implicating any judge in police corruption.

He then challenged Skosana to indicate who should be called, causing the meeting to turn rowdy.

“Stop being a coward. Tell us the name of a judge."

Committee chairperson Soviet Lekganyane said that while there is no denial that there are problems within the judiciary, there is currently no evidence before the committee that warranted a specific judge being called to testify.