Africa-Press – South-Africa. Deputy President Paul Mashatile has invoked the sub judice rule to deflect parliamentary questions on the police’s controversial acquittal of his bodyguards at a disciplinary hearing in April.
Mashatile faced oral questions on the conduct of his “N1 eight” VIP protection unit after they stunningly walked out unscathed from DC hearing, despite a viral video footage capturing them assaulting a civilian on the N1 in Johannesburg in 2023.
The police caused shock waves last month when it came to light that its internal disciplinary committee ruled that the viral video was inadmissible as evidence, leading the acquittal of the eight members of the Presidential Protection Unit.
Ironically the same video is being used as admissible evidence in the Randburg magistrate’s court where the N1 eight appeared this week, in a criminal trial with charges such as assault with intent to go grievous bodily harm, malicious damage to property and reckless driving.
MK Party deputy president John Hlophe, in his capacity as leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, had put the issue on Thursday’s question paper.
Hlophe had asked Mashatile if he thought the SAPS DC outcome against his protectors, previously slammed by other police sources as “rigged and badly managed,” had been “morally correct”.
Hlophe also wanted to know if the deputy president had “attempted to schedule a meeting with the victim” of his protectors’ assault to hear his side of the story “and apologise” to him.
But Mashatile told MPs that he was never involved in the DC process run by the office of the national police, and that he never initiated any meeting with the victim.
The deputy president has also not yet made time to read the DC verdict that cleared his bodyguards, which was issued on April 7.
“Let me emphasise that the office of the national commissioner of police was responsible for the DC processes for the eight members.
“I was personally not involved in these procedures, in addition I have never attempted to arrange a meeting with the complainant so that we allow the justice process to take place without interference,” he said in response to Hlophe, who was not present in the house.
“We all know that our jurisprudence allows for both sides of the story to be heard, in this regard I welcome the outcome of the police DC inquiry that has acquitted the eight members of the presidential protection services. As I said, deputy speaker, I have not met the victim, because the matter is sub judice. These protectors are charged, and they are appearing in a court of law so any engagement with any of the parties to the case could be prejudicial to them. My approach is let’s allow the courts to complete their work.”
And that’s the script Mashatile stuck to, despite repeated efforts to corner him by the MKP’s Siyabonga Gama, the DA’ s Ian Cameron and Rise Mzansi’s Makashule Gana.
Cameron, who is also chair of parliament’s portfolio committee on police, asked Mashatile how it was rational for the court to admit the N1 eight assault video as legitimate evidence, yet it was rejected in the SAPS DC inquiry.
“What action will your office take to address this glaring contradiction to internal accountability and open court processes, particularly where public trust and the abuse of state power are concerned?” asked Cameron.
However, the country’s No 2 would not have it.
“Thank you, Honourable Cameron, let’s wait for the courts to complete their work… then our time will come to say what do we do next.”
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