Public Protector agrees to investigate NDZ VIP protection

The DA can today announce the confirmation by the office of the Public Protector that they will investigate Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma for her abuse of VIP Presidential Protection, as a private citizen.

This follows the DA’s complaint lodged with the Public Protector’s office on 18 April 2017.

It was recently confirmed to Parliament by the then Acting National Police Commissioner General Phahlane, that Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma continued to be protected by the VIP Presidential Protection unit while she travels around South Africa for ANC campaigning.

It has now been almost two months since the Dlamini-Zuma VIP scandal came to light and there are no indications that Police Minister, Fikile Mbalula, has yet put a stop to it. He is allowing an obscene bill to run up and South Africans know that it is the struggling taxpayer who is going to pay for it.

Dlamini-Zuma is a clear candidate in the ANC leadership succession race, and her use of VIP Presidential Protection as she campaigns is clearly another ANC abuse of public money. NDZ simply cannot be given preferential VIP protection for ANC party business at the expense of the public purse.

There are critical policing resource problems around the country which need to be focussed on. Some of these problems include building more police stations and satellite police stations, capitating Family and Child Services (FCS) units and reducing the backlog at forensic labs with more equipment and personnel.

The NDZ VIP scandal shows that the ANC chooses to protect their own leaders instead of protecting the citizens they are supposed to serve from the criminal threats on our streets and in their homes every day.

The DA looks forward to a thorough and swift Public Protector investigation.

Statement issued by Zakhele Mbhele MP, DA Shadow Minister of Police, 4 June 2017