Treat Cele's claims with pinch of salt, says policing expert Mary De Haas

CRIME and policing expert Mary De Haas has lashed out at former police minister Bheki Cele, saying his claims that prominent whistleblower Thabiso Zulu refused state protection when he was being threatened, should not be taken seriously.

The claims surfaced recently when Cele testified before the Ad Hoc Committee.

Zulu was a close friend of slain ANC councillor in Umzimkhulu, Sindiso Magaqa, who was killed for exposing corruption in the municipality.

Zulu has been on a campaign to ensure that those implicated in Magaqa’s murder are held to account. As a result, his own life has been threatened, and he has faced attempted assassination.

High-profile individuals have been arrested in connection with Magaqa’s murder, including ANC heavyweight and former mayor, Mluleki Ndobe, and a municipal manager, but they were later released. The municipal manager was re-arrested for the murder, and Ndobe is now deceased. A hitman was recently sentenced after admitting to the killing, and others implicated in the case are facing trial.

Cele was questioned by the Ad Hoc Committee on why Zulu had never been offered protection as a whistleblower.

It was reported that Cele stated the reason Zulu was not provided protection was that he had refused to go into witness protection, that he wanted bodyguards he could take with him wherever he chose to go, and that he was also facing some criminal charges.

Cele said activists like De Haas were not considering the other factors in their campaign to fight for Zulu to receive protection. 

However De Haas said Cele’s claims were unfounded. She has known Zulu for years and said that he had an even world for her doing research; she was also at the forefront of trying to get him protection.

"The claim that he refused witness protection is rubbish. When he was offered witness protection, he told me that while he did not want to go there, he also did not want to ignore them. So he went there, only to find that he was being surveilled, and he left. On the fact that he wants a bodyguard he can go anywhere with, that is also untrue. What he asked for was that he be able to choose the people to protect him because he did not trust the police, considering how much the country spends on protecting the police. Protecting him would have been nothing," she stated.

She added that any claims of impropriety are simply not true, noting that the person who accused Zulu had settled the matter financially without Zulu admitting to any wrongdoing or to the allegations. De Haas said Cele’s dismissive attitude towards the matter was uncalled for, as Zulu’s life was under serious threat at the time. 

"Things had gotten very bad when he testified at the Moerane Commission. I have told him that perhaps he should not go there, but he felt it was important for him to testify, and after he testified, there were serious threats to his life."

On Cele’s testimony, Zulu said: "I have no comment. We will leave what he said as it is. The media has been following this news for some time, and they know what the truth is. I do not want to rehash and open up old wounds."

Cape Times