MPs during the parliamentary ad hoc committee inquiry at the Good Hope Chambers in Cape Town on 23 October 2025. Picture: Gallo Images/Brenton Geach Former Crime Intelligence brigadier Tiyani Hlungwani returned to parliament on Thursday for his second day of testimony before the ad hoc committee investigating allegations by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. The hearings are being held at the Good Hope Chambers in Cape Town.
Hlungwani told MPs on Wednesday that he believed he was forced out of Crime Intelligence in 2024 because he was an “obstacle” and stood in the way of those seeking access to the division’s secret service account, commonly referred to as the slush fund. Central to Hlungwani’s testimony is his refusal to authorise an alleged request from former national police commissioner Khehla Sitole to withdraw R45 million from the secret fund. The funds were allegedly intended for the South African Police Service (Saps) to acquire a surveillance “grabber” device.
Hlungwani claimed he declined to authorise the withdrawal after determining that the cost estimate for the equipment did not justify the R45 million sought. He further alleged that Sitole had promised politicians that a portion of the money would be used to finance a faction at the ANC’s December 2017 national elective conference. According to Hlungwani, former police minister Fikile Mbalula was the individual who allegedly asked Sitole to procure the grabber.
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