Mthethwa's family disputes Mkhwanazi's claim that state funds built his perimeter wall

LATE South African ambassador to France Nathi Mthethwa and his now widow Philisiwe Buthelezi paid for every single brick of the perimeter wall at his home, the family said in denying KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s claims that Crime Intelligence slush funds had been used.

Mkhwanazi told Parliament’s ad hoc committee inquiry that Crime Intelligence had secretly built a R600 000 wall at Mthethwa’s home in KwaMbonambi in KwaZulu-Natal. 

The committee is hearing his testimony on allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system.

Mkhwanazi told the MPs on Tuesday that he believes the wall was built without Mthethwa’s knowledge or request.

"We are sitting today, the country is in mourning because we lost one of our ambassadors in France. But that ambassador was a Minister of Police.

"As you switch on the television and you look at the homestead of the former minister, you’re going to see a very big wall, a perimeter wall that was built by the money from Crime Intelligence. But nobody was held accountable for that, and the reports are there."

Mthethwa died in Paris last week after reportedly falling from a 22nd-floor hotel window. His body is expected to arrive in the country on Friday.

Mkhwanazi said there was a rogue network within Crime Intelligence that has allegedly manipulated ministers and interfered with oversight bodies.

"It’s members from Crime Intelligence that took the money out of the Secret Fund Account to make that wall — so they could get control of the minister. Tomorrow they could loot that money on their own, and the minister couldn’t say anything," he said.

"Crime Intelligence has been doing a lot of bad things, and those things were brought to the attention of the Inspector General of Intelligence. Reports that were supposed to go to Parliament to hold people accountable never reached you," Mkhwanazi said.

However, Mthethwa’s relative Khulekani Mthethwa denied the claims, saying the family had no knowledge of what Mkhwanazi had said in Parliament.

“What we know, as a family, is that the house including the perimeter wall was built by Mthethwa (Nathi) and his wife so we do not even want to hear anything about this house,” said Khulekani.

Cape Times