O’Sullivan refuses to answer questions about background

Private forensic investigatorPaul O’Sullivantoldparliament’s ad hoc committeethat he would not answer questions related to his family and business interests before 1990. Testifying on Tuesday before the committee which is investigating corruption in the criminal justice system, O’Sullivan insisted that his personal background was off limits. Economic Freedom Fighters MP Julius Malema asked why the investigator had stated in his affidavit that the committee could not ask him questions regarding events before 1990.

“I’ve never heard a witness who gives an affidavit saying to us, ‘you can’t ask me this or that’. When he took an oath, he committed to answer all the questions and do so truthfully,” said Malema. O’Sullivan said he included the request for personal security.

He said there had been 10 attempts on his life and he was shot three times in 1996. “Unfortunately the criminal elements, what they try to do, they try to find out things about which are of a personal nature,” he said. O’Sullivan was implicated in police corruption at the Madlanga Commission by KwaZulu-Natal police commissionerNhlanhla Mkhwanazi.

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He said it was an open secret that O’Sullivan had links to suspended deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya. Mkhwanazi said O’Sullivan accused him of corruption after he mentioned Sibiya during his highly charged media briefing in July last year. He subsequently invited O’Sullivan to present his evidence before the commission.

Cedrick Nkabinde, the chief of staff to suspended police ministerSenzo Mchunuaccused O’Sullivan of corruption before the ad hoc committee. He testified that he received threatening messages from O’Sullivan before his appearance at the committee. Nkabinde said that O’Sullivan had extensive links within the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, South African Police Service and the National Prosecuting Authority describing his influence as “the real state capture”.

On Tuesday, O’Sullivan said he was not willing to provide information about his business interests, family and properties. He would provide information to suspects on trial for his murder attempts, he said. “I made it clear that I’m not going to be providing that information.

It’s just not going to be advanced. We can sit here all day and you can ask me a million questions. I’m not going to provide that information,” he said.

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