Parliament’s Mkhwanazi ad hoc committee hearings — the players you need to know

On Tuesday, 7 October 2025, the parliamentary ad hoc committee established to investigate the explosive allegations by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi will finally hold public hearings after weeks of preparation. 

As at the Madlanga Commission, Mkhwanazi will be the first to testify. He’s expected to be led through his evidence on Tuesday before MPs begin questioning him on Wednesday. 

The oral hearings before the ad hoc committee will feature many of the witnesses at the Madlanga Commission. Read Rebecca Davis’ guide to key players, including Mkhwanazi, Senzo Mchunu, Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya, Brown Mogotsi, Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala, below.

While the ad hoc committee has given itself 30 days to finish its work, that seems unlikely. It’s still finalising its witness list, but it could include more than 30 people. 

Here’s a look at some of the main characters in the parliamentary committee, officially titled the “Ad Hoc Committee to Investigate Allegations made by Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi”.

Committee chair Soviet Lekganyane (ANC)

Former Limpopo MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs, Soviet Lekganyane is the committee’s chairperson, elected during the first meeting of the committee in August.

Lekganyane holds a secondary teacher’s diploma, an LLB degree, a bachelor’s degree in politics, an honours degree in politics and a post-graduate diploma in leadership and public management.

He has been an ANC MP since June 2025. Following his appointment, opposition parties have raised issues with his being an ANC MP (although EFF MP Julius Malema declined to accept a nomination as the committee chairperson) rather than an opposition member. This is due to the allegations of interference against the now on leave Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, also from the ANC.

TimesLive reported that Lekganyane said he should not be judged by his political home. He said “allegations made by Mkhwanazi are not against the ANC; they are only made against one member of the ANC, and others whose political organisations we don’t know”.

Ian Cameron (DA)

Cameron is one of two DA members of the committee with voting rights. Being the chairperson of the police committee, Cameron knows all the players well and will likely steer questions around what has transpired within issues around Crime Intelligence, police interference and of course, the political killings task team at the centre of the explosive allegations made by Mkhwanazi. 

Expect probing and specific questions that delve deeper from the first time MP, who has become a key figure in the policing sector.

Dianne Kohler Barnard (DA) and Fadiel Adams (National Coloured Congress)

These two MPs’ names have come up during Mkhwanazi’s testimony. While Kohler Barnard is an alternate member of the committee (with no voting rights), Adams is not a member.

Both were named during Mkhwanazi’s testimony over allegedly having obtained information involving Crime Intelligence that was not supposed to be disseminated.

As Daily Maverick reported, both have denied the allegations. Both have been named as potential witnesses to appear before the committee after being named by Mkhwanazi. 

Glynnis Breytenbach (DA) and Julius Malema (EFF)

Both are experienced MPs who have been in Parliament long enough to have seen inquiry after inquiry into potential malfeasance. Breytenbach will bring to the committee her usual razor-sharp analysis of the criminal justice system as a former state prosecutor and experienced parliamentarian.

Malema, who was recently convicted on a firearms charge, has been critical of the delays in the committee’s work. During one meeting, Malema said the committee should not play “second fiddle” to the work of the Madlanga Commission. 

Interestingly, according to minutes from the Parliamentary Monitoring Group, Malema has asked that Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie testify at the committee “regarding criminal syndicates and the involvement of police officials”. Presumably, this is because of the minister’s history as a convicted criminal.

Expect straight questions from the pair, although probably from different vantage points. 

Other members on the committee to keep an eye on include ANC chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli, ANC member Khusela Diko, MK party member David Skosana (who named his wife, former Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane, as a possible individual who should appear before the committee). Watch out for alternate members Dereleen James (ActionSA), Wouter Wessels (Freedom Front Plus) for their clarity. 

See the full list of committee members below.

Evidence leaders 

Norman Arendse SC 

Well-renowned Cape Town advocate Arendse will lead the team of evidence leaders. He has practised extensively in constitutional public interest law since 1989. According to a parliamentary introduction, he is an accredited mediator.  

Arendse has served as the chair of the council at the University of Cape Town since 2023. At the time of his appointment there, the university noted his “track record and extensive experience in governance, legal matters and leadership roles in national sports structures in South Africa as well as in the law profession as the first black chair of the General Council of the Bar of South Africa”.

During the introduction of the committee’s legal advisers in September, Breytenbach, herself an experienced prosecutor, noted that Arendse was an experienced litigator who would provide valuable assistance.

Maria Mokhaoetsi

Arendse will be assisted by two advocates. The first, Maria Mokhaoetsi, is a graduate of the University of the Free State and obtained chambers in December 2015 at the Cape Bar.

Mokhaoetsi’s areas of practice are administrative law, constitutional law, labour law and land rights. Before joining the bar, she practised as an attorney at Lawyers for Human Rights. She thereafter joined Cheadle Thompson and Haysom Attorneys, where she specialised in Land Rights. 

Lerato Zikalala

Advocate Lerato Zikalala will serve as an evidence leader alongside Mokhaoetsi. Before joining the bar, Zikalala served as a law clerk at the Constitutional Court. She holds an LLB from Rhodes University. Her areas of practice are general public and commercial law, with a particular interest in constitutional law, administrative and general public regulatory law.

Zikalala completed her LLM specialising in International Human Rights Law at the University of Notre Dame. As an attorney at Bowman Gilfillan, Lerato specialised in commercial litigation, public and regulatory law. DM