If you’ve ever wondered what a “love-in” is, then you should have seen EFF leader Julius Malema and Investigating Directorate Against Corruption head Andrea Johnson last November. During her appearance before parliament’s ad hoc committee probing allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system, Malema was so impressed by her that he compared her to his political hero.
“I thought Winnie Mandela died, but she has multiplied,” he beamed.
Then he addressed the fact that Johnson had brought flimsy corruption charges against senior leaders of the police crime intelligence unit. Johnson’s husband, Junaid, is a brigadier in that unit.
Without any serious probing as to whether she could have had a conflict of interest, Malema agreed with her that she and her husband may discuss light matters at home but may not go into detail about internal cases.
“I understand that as a married man myself. We never discuss the details of the EFF with my wife. We discuss the EFF but not who’s going to which position, who took which file and all of that. We don’t go to that extent,” he said.
Johnson was lobbed softball questions, showered with praise (Malema again: “This is quality leadership coming from a black woman”) and was sent off into the sunset.
We now know, thanks to the Madlanga commission of inquiry, that Malema and Johnson enjoy a proximity that is shocking in the lengths and depths to which it may have compromised law enforcement in South Africa.
It now turns out, according to evidence presented at the Madlanga commission, that Malema and Feroz Khan of the crime intelligence unit engaged in a quid pro quo relationship using tobacco businessman Mohamed “Mo” Sayed as a covert intermediary. Khan was senior to Johnson’s husband in crime intelligence. Johnson has confirmed to the commission that she and Junaid had a personal relationship with Khan and were guests at his 50th birthday party.
Malema denies he had ties to Khan, but the essence of what is suggested by the commission is that he seemingly provided political cover for Khan and ran interference against disciplinary processes pending against him. Meanwhile, Khan is alleged to have abused his police powers to feed Malema sensitive intelligence.
In 2018, when Khan was accused of assaulting colleague Leonora Phetlhe, Johnson allegedly interfered to shield Khan by sending him confidential case details. She was a prosecutor with the National Prosecuting Authority at the time.
The parliamentary committee that Malema sat on while praising Johnson is debating a preliminary draft report on capture of the police by politicians and criminals. When the committee met two weeks ago, after millions of rands of taxpayers’ money had been spent, the report indicated that no-one was responsible for the well-ventilated failures and corruption of the law enforcement system. No politician or police leader is linked to crime lords.
No politician is linked to cops like Khan, who was conveniently shot a day before he was to appear before the Madlanga commission. Everyone is blameless. No serious reforms are recommended. “Everyone is exonerated,” moaned an MK Party MP.
The ad hoc committee was full of noise and posturing. Live on television, we saw many of our ethics-free politicians play to the gallery while failing to hold people accountable. An MK Party politician congratulated Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, accused of attempted murder, on his garish clothes and referred to him respectfully as “grootman”.
Meanwhile, at the Madlanga commission, highly qualified and trained investigators, lawyers and a judge have done the most exquisite job of probing, establishing facts, identifying weaknesses and strengths of the criminal justice system, and passing suspects on to law enforcement agencies for action. That bunch makes you proud to be South African.
The contrast between the shoddy tripe we saw at the ad hoc committee and the professionalism and excellence of the Madlanga commission describes the choice for South Africa perfectly. It is a choice that plays out every day. Think of the Public Investment Corporation over the past few weeks. Would that institution be in so much turmoil if it was chaired by an independent, qualified, vetted professional instead of a politician goaded on by trade unionists with an agenda?
We need to take the politicians’ hands off our country’s operations.