Johannesburg - EFF leader Julius Malema and secretary general Marshall Dlamini were embroiled this afternoon in a war of words with Police Minister Bheki Cele over the allegation that the IFP was planning to assassinate Dlamini.
It got heated when it was Cele’s turn on the joint sitting in parliament on the first of two days of the State of the Nation Address (SONA), amid President Ramaphosa outlining plans last week.
Last week, the EFF alleged that they received a report from intelligence warning Dlamini that IFP leaders wanted to assassinate him in a political killing.
The IFP denied the allegation and went as far as saying they would approach Cele, as the minister of police, to tell them more about the alleged assassination plot and also questioned why the potential killers had not been arrested yet.
Cele told the house that on Wednesday, he had a long meeting with Dlamini at his house in Cape Town.
"He was there to urge and begged me to confirm that I've said IFP will kill him, and when I refused, he promised me that life will come to be difficult for me. So, president of the EFF, you were lied to; you must be angry, but not with me. It’s not me who lied to you, to put you on national television to tell the world the wrong thing. It wasn't me; you go and correct it with your SG. I spent 47 minutes with him," Cele said.
Howling, screams, and applause were heard from the section filled with ANC MPs after Cele’s revelation.
Amos Masondo, Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, stepped in and asked Cele to take a seat as Dlamini raised a point of order.
He was asked what point of order he was rising, and Dlamini told him that he wanted to address what he called an "ANC coward," referring to Cele.
"The questions he (Cele) should be responding to are, did he not call me last week? He is the one who called me, not the other way around, and his call was very clear," said Dlamini.
According to Dlamini, when making the call, Cele said: "SG, I’ve detected political intolerance in KwaZulu-Natal that is going to lead to killings, and my question to him was, does it involve me? His answer was yes. He proposed that we meet in Cape Town on Wednesday (a day before Sona)".
Dlamini, again, called Cele a coward who was scared of the IFP.
Masondo jumped in and told Dlamini that what he was saying was not a point of order.
Dlamini interjected and said: "I am not scared of him (Cele) or anyone here". However, Masondo asked him to take a seat.
Cele, who was expected to continue with his debate, went on to tell Dlamini that he didn’t have a drink or juice to give him but stressed that their meeting was 47 minutes long.
Earlier in his debate, Malema called for Cele to be fired. He also accused police management of being in cahoots with criminals, including izinkabi (hitmen).
"We have a high level of crime due to an incapable police minister. We ought to fight criminality in the police," Malema said.
He also alleged that they were tipped off by the crime intelligence unit, which allegedly advised suspects to implicate Deputy President and Chief Whip of the EFF Floyd Shivambu in the murder of Hillary Gardie, the daughter of Godrich Gardee, who was brutally murdered last year.
Cele asked Malema to repeat what he said.
"I will request the president of the EFF to repeat every word outside of this house. Please repeat that. But also, if you want to bring it to the debate here, you can bring into the debate here," Cele said.
Masondo asked Cele to take his seat as Malema stood up to raise his point of order.
Malema first complained to Masondo that he was raising issues about Cele, and he stopped him.
The unhappy Malema told Masondo that he was not given the opportunity to speak about the issues that Cele was raising and that, instead, he was asked to withdraw.
"This is an abuse of this house. But unlike him, I've said this in public, and I will say it again. I'm not scared of that; I brought it to his attention when the crime intelligence wanted to implicate Shivambu in Gardee's murder. I told him; they said the crime intelligence is saying the suspects must implicate Shivambu, and I even told the president about his being involved in a possible assassination of Shivambu. He knows that, and I will repeat it in public," Malema said.
The Star