Chief of Staff Cedrick Nkabinde has confirmed to Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee that suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu instructed him to organise meetings with Brown Mogotsi and other ANC figures at the Minister’s official residence in Pretoria, although he was excluded from the discussions once the guests arrived.
Testifying on Thursday, Nkabinde told MPs that his responsibilities included coordinating the Minister’s diary, facilitating meetings and ensuring the daily administration of the office ran smoothly.
He said he received Mogotsi’s details from KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who shared the contact number for verification.
Nkabinde confirmed that he facilitated at least one meeting between Mchunu and Mogotsi related to illegal mining activities in Stilfontein, North West. “That’s correct,” he said when asked whether he had arranged the discussions.
He explained that his involvement was limited to logistics and that he did not participate in the meeting itself.
“In the one meeting that did take place, I facilitated it, but I did not enter the boardroom,” he told the committee.
He said he believed the Minister required privacy for the engagement and would have called him in if needed. Nkabinde explained that he got to know Mogotsi only through his official role and that Mogotsi had indicated he would bring “other comrades” to brief the Minister on developments in the North West.
Nkabinde said he assumed they were ANC members but did not know their identities.
MPs challenged Nkabinde about whether the meeting occurred at a private or official residence. He clarified that the venue was Mchunu’s official Pretoria residence, which also functions as a working space.
“We work from that house. We hardly go to the office. In that residence, we have offices. It was an oversight to say private, it is the official residence,” he said.
Committee members also raised questions about WhatsApp messages previously shown during hearings, which appeared to include references to alleged crime figure Vusi “Cat” Matlala.
Nkabinde said he had never received or been copied in any messages from Mogotsi that mentioned Matlala.
“He has never sent me a message or copied me in a message with Cat Matlala,” he said .
Nkabinde also told MPs that Mchunu occasionally held meetings without him present and that in some cases, the Minister explicitly excused him from attending.
He said he respected those decisions as part of the Minister’s working style.
The committee continues to examine whether political influence or improper relationships may have affected policing decisions, with testimony from senior officials forming part of a broader inquiry into alleged interference in the criminal justice system.
