Parliament’s ad hoc committee probing allegations linked to KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has pushed back against a late request from convicted murderer Thabo Bester to testify before it.

The committee met on Monday to deal with housekeeping matters when Bester’s submission came up for discussion. According to Parliament’s legal services, the letter was vague and did not clearly explain what contribution Bester wanted to make within the committee’s terms of reference.

Late Request Sparks Pushback

Andile Tetyana from Parliament’s Legal Services told MPs that Bester’s letter was “scant” and did not spell out how his proposed testimony would assist the committee’s work.

The letter, sent on Bester’s behalf, said he wanted to appear before the committee to provide testimony he believed would help advance its work, particularly around evidence already presented about him. But MPs were not convinced.

MPs say Committee is Nearing the End

Committee chairperson Soviet Lekganyane said the process had reached a stage where the public wanted Parliament to focus on solutions and possible interventions, not reopen issues through late submissions.

MPs agreed that it was too late in the process to hear from Bester. They also said other avenues remained available to him, including the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services.

Lekganyane Takes Hard Line

Lekganyane strongly criticised the request, saying Bester was not justified in asking to appear before Parliament after escaping from prison and later being re-arrested.

He said if Bester’s complaints about his arrest or return to South Africa were already before the courts, then those legal processes should be allowed to run their course. He also stressed that Parliament could not act as an appeal body.

Bester Still Fighting Prison Transfer

Bester is currently awaiting trial on multiple charges after his 2023 arrest in Tanzania alongside Nandipha Magudumana. He is also challenging his transfer from Pretoria to the eBongweni Super Maximum Correctional Facility in KwaZulu-Natal.

That legal bid recently failed in the Gauteng High Court, which found that Correctional Services acted within its rights when moving him for security reasons.