Parliament’s portfolio committee on police is eagerly awaiting President Jacob Zuma’s response to the Claassen Commission report into suspended Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega’s fitness for office.
The matter will rank high on committee members’ priority list, following a year of unprecedented tensions between Minister of Police Nathi Nhleko and heads of agencies within the police department.
Towards the end of 2016 Nhleko was at pains to try to convince Parliament to institute an inquiry into Independent Police Investigative Directorate head Robert McBride’s fitness for office but did not get his way. He has gone as far as to say he could not work with McBride.
In December, Gauteng Hawks head Prince Mokotedi accused McBride of treason and conspiring to unseat President Jacob Zuma. McBride denied the claims and took a polygraph detector test, which he passed.
Zuma received the Claassen report, which advised that Phiyega should be removed. Zuma gave Phiyega the opportunity to make representations before responding to the report.
Police committee chairman Francois Beukman said the committee would look at the report once Zuma had formally responded to it.
Also high on the committee’s priority list would be stability in leadership positions at police agencies, Beukman said.
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