Police Committee must reconvene and deal with shambolic Poland controversy

Dear Editor

The DA is taking Parliamentary action to ensure that Major General Wally Rhoode, the Presidential Head of the Protection Services is held accountable for the shambolic handling of the joyride to Warsaw airport, Poland.

It has been widely reported that the Presidential Mission, where the aircraft, carrying approximately 120-person entourage and alleged crates of weapons, was refused entry by the Polish Government. Reports suggest that this joyride which lacked planning and flight clearance carried a cost of between R14 to R16 million.

As such the DA has today written to the Acting Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Mr Albert Seabi, to convene the Committee, in an extraordinary meeting during the recess period, to get to the bottom of this “failed PR stunt”.

Furthermore Rhoode, gave an unofficial interview, not authorised by the President, in which he labelled the Polish Government as “racists” on international media.

Not only was this statement defamatory and baseless but it came across as the South African Government’s official stance.

The DA demands that the Acting Chairperson call the Committee to sit and summons Major General Rhoode, and any other relevant person, to appear before them and account for his actions.

This is not the first instance that Major General Rhoode’s actions have been called into disrepute. He was a central figure to the Phala Phala scandal in which he conducted unauthorized investigations at the behest of the President and used taxpayer money to fund flights across South Africa’s borders.

At a time when South Africa is already the pariah of the international community, with the ANC government’s refusal to denounce the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia, South Africa cannot afford to have unauthorized spokespersons such as Major General Wally Rhoode act as a renegade cowboy.

We call upon Mr Seabi to put South Africa first, and not the ANC, and urgently arrange for the Committee to reconvene.

Regards

Andrew Whitfield MP
DA Shadow Minister of Police