JOHANNESBURG- KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi says he’s ready for whatever may come his way after National Coloured Congress leader Fadiel Adams laid perjury charges against him.
At Madlanga Commission of Inquiry probing allegations of corruption and political meddling in the police and judiciary, Mkhwanazi accused Adams of being reckless with sensitive crime intelligence.
He further warned that the classified information Adams shared was classified, and only vetted members of Parliament’s intelligence committee have the clearance to access it.
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Adams dismissed these allegations, counter-claiming that Mkhwanazi acted wrongly by accessing a top-secret police docket and lying under oath.
“If it's marked top secret, and the hero policeman does not have top secret clearance, how dare he look what's in there? Because he's accusing me of being in possession of top secret documentation, which I'm not classified to and I'm not authorised to see. Neither is he, but he's done it anyway.
“I targeted him because he lied under oath. If people are asking me to look the other way, then they must stop complaining about crime, corruption and a failed police service.
“If police are allowed to lie under oath, then we have a problem. If South Africa is so desperate for a hero that they will look at a two-faced liar as our saviour, then we have a problem,” Adams said.
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Mkhwanazi is seemingly unshaken by the looming prosecution.
Addressing the media following the launch of the KwaZulu-Natal Safety Month and festive season safety plan, he acknowledged the charges against him and dared Adams to take him on.
“Anyone has got the right to open a case that police must investigate. If there is a crime committed and police feel that they must take that to the courts, and if they decide to prosecute then they can prosecute.
“I have never been afraid to be prosecuted. If Mr Adams, whom I spoke about in the commission, feels he must use the strategy to threaten or intimidate, it is OK.
“I am not afraid of that. We already understand which side of the law he is on, we will find each other in the right place. Let it happen; he must bring it on. We cannot be afraid…” Mkhwanazi said.