MK Party MP Vusi Shongwe is at the centre of fresh security concerns in Parliament after the party revealed that he was hijacked, kidnapped and robbed in Tembisa, and demanded urgent protection for MPs linked to the high-profile ad hoc committee probing alleged corruption and political interference in South Africa’s criminal justice system.
According to IOL, MK Party chief whip Colleen Makhubele wrote to National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula to report that Shongwe, an alternate member of the ad hoc committee, was kidnapped on the night of Wednesday, 26 November 2025, along with another person travelling in his vehicle, robbed of three phones and “coerced… into paying a substantial sum of money”.
In her letter, Makhubele described the incident as “a matter of grave concern regarding the safety and security of members of the Ad Hoc Committee” and reminded the Speaker that MK had already raised security fears during the Chief Whips’ Forum when the committee’s term was extended.
She said those warnings had also been placed on record in an earlier letter from the party’s acting leader.
Makhubele told Parliament the hijacking shows the “urgent need for enhanced security measures” for all members serving on the ad hoc committee and warned that “any further delays or failure to address these threats not only endangers our members but also exposes Parliament to potential legal and financial consequences”.
She requested a written response from the Speaker’s office setting out the immediate steps that will be taken.
The MK Party chief whip stressed that the party’s MPs, including Vusi Shongwe, should not have their safety “compromised by budgetary constraints”, arguing that the level of risk attached to the committee’s work “should have been anticipated”.
She said the party remains committed to the “safety and well-being” of its representatives and expressed confidence that the Speaker’s office shares this responsibility.
Gauteng police have confirmed that a criminal case is under investigation.
Provincial spokesperson Captain Tintswalo Sibeko said “a case of hijacking and kidnapping has been opened” at Tembisa police station, adding that no arrests have been made and that inquiries are continuing.
Vusi Shongwe serves as an alternate MK member on Parliament’s ad hoc committee established to investigate explosive claims made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi about corruption, criminal cartels and political interference in policing structures.
While the motive for the hijacking has not been established, the MK Party has framed the incident against a backdrop of rising anxiety about intimidation and the personal safety of MPs associated with that inquiry, and is pressuring Parliament to treat the matter as a test of how seriously it takes those risks.
