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DA MP Ian Cameron claims it is now clear why EFF leader Julius Malema vehemently opposed summoning suspended crime intelligence deputy head Maj-Gen Feroz Khan before parliament’s ad hoc committee.
His remarks come after revelations at the Madlanga commission of inquiry, which recently exposed an allegedly corrupt relationship between Malema and Khan.
Even more interesting, Malema previously deposed an affidavit distancing himself from the conversations between Khan and Mo Sayed. Yet [the commission’s] evidence suggests he may have been far more involved than previously understood.
— DA MP Ian Cameron
Malema had previously argued against Khan’s appearance before the ad hoc committee, insisting it would not help its probe. He claimed Khan would simply deny the accusations, pointing to KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s previous assertion that no wrongdoing could be found against the deputy head.
“What are you going to produce to prove that Khan is part of a faction, other than mere suspicion?” Malema argued at the time.
“We are told [crime intelligence boss Dumisani] Khumalo will bring concrete evidence, yet Mkhwanazi himself admits he has nothing concrete on Khan. As we sit here, we have nothing on Khan except that he did a good job, was exonerated at a disciplinary hearing, and went back to work.”
However, testimony at the commission on Tuesday painted a different picture, revealing a web of political interference and information leaks co-ordinated through businessman and suspected tobacco smuggler Mohammed “Mo” Sayed.
Messages suggested that Khan used Sayed to channel drafted parliamentary questions to Malema. These questions were allegedly tailored to trap the former inspector-general of intelligence, Dr Setlhomamaru Dintwe, into lying to parliament, thereby orchestrating his removal. Malema has since distanced himself from the content of the messages.
What are you going to produce to prove that Khan is part of a faction, other than mere suspicion?
— Juliue Malema
Although Khan was on the initial shortlist of witnesses to testify before parliament, the ad hoc committee ultimately wrapped up its witness phase without summoning him, citing insufficient evidence.
Taking to X, Cameron directly linked Malema’s past pushback to a cover-up.
“Perhaps that’s why there was such resistance in the ad hoc committee to Khan being called to testify,” Cameron wrote. “Even more interesting, Malema previously deposed an affidavit distancing himself from the conversations between Khan and Mo Sayed. Yet [the commission’s] evidence suggests he may have been far more involved than previously understood.”
Cameron added that his own suspicions regarding Khan date back more than a decade. He noted that when he demanded accountability regarding Khan in 2014, he received no answers.
“Instead, I was met with a lawyer’s letter demanding that I retract my statements and ‘cease and desist’. The concerns were already there: questionable procurement, abuse of the Secret Service account, alleged media smear campaigns, and allegations of defeating the ends of justice.”
Cameron is not the only MP accusing the EFF leader of shielding Khan. Testifying before the Madlanga commission, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party MP Vusi Shongwe also blamed the EFF for blocking Khan’s appearance before parliament.
The EFF, however, has strongly defended its stance, maintaining that the decision to drop Khan from the witness list was a collective, democratic resolution made by the entire committee due to a lack of substantive evidence and a tight schedule.
“It is for this reason that the ad hoc committee had no substantive basis to call him for questioning,” the EFF said. “Suggestions that he was ‘protected’ by Malema are therefore based on a fallacy and are not supported by the evidence on record.”
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