Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Chief Whip Floyd Shivambu says his party will not entertain what he calls the childish accusations made by Police Minister Bheki Cele that party leader Julius Malema is plotting with Police Commissioner Khehla Sitole to remove him from his position.
Shivambu also hinted that the EFF will reveal how some Ministers are allegedly plotting against MPs who are trying to expose corruption.
He was speaking during the Joint SONA Debate at the City Hall in Cape Town on Tuesday night.
Shivambu also criticised Cele for speaking ill about Sitole in public.
He says, “But also how do you as a Minister come and badmouth your Commissioner of Police, whatever personal difference you had. And then you still expect society to have faith in the police system where in Parliament you have got a Minister who openly does that in press conferences and then he repeats gossip as if it’s intelligence.”
“If we were to do that as well, we were going to spread gossip here and say that there are Ministers who hire Nkabis (hitmen) to kill members of Parliament who are about to expose them of corruption. We are not going to do it today, we’ll do it once we have gathered proper facts,” adds Shivambu.
VIDEO: Cele alleges Malema plotted with Sitole to remove him:
Shock and dismay
Sitole has denied allegations that he has plotted with Malema to remove Cele from office.
Sitole says he has learnt with shock and dismay the allegations made by Cele.
He has confirmed having a meeting with Malema and that it was initiated by the Ministry of Police, at the behest of Deputy Police Minister Cassel Mathale.
Sitole says his name is being tarnished for political reasons.
Police Spokesperson Vish Naidoo says, “The National Commissioner confirms that he met with Julius Malema. The Deputy Minister requested General Sitole to meet Mr Julius Malema to address potential threats against Mr Malema.”
“Mr Malema met with the National Commissioner and the Head of Protection and Security Services, Lieutenant General Sam Shitlabane, in 2020 at the Tshwane Training Academy. The meeting was solely about the alleged threats against Mr Malema and nothing else to which feedback was provided to the Deputy Minister,” he adds.
Additional reporting by Horisani Sithole.
