National
Family, friends of beleaguered NPA boss leap to his defence─── 11:02 Mon, 09 Jun 2014
Durban - The family and former neighbours of beleaguered NPA boss Mxolisi Nxasana have leapt to his defence, saying the murder charges he faced in the eighties was a tragedy he had never fully recovered from.
Despite Nxasana’s involvement in the stabbing incident and new claims that he had been involved in another murder incident in Nongoma in 1986, they said he was idolised in the community.
His role as president of the KwaZulu-Natal Law Society and now head of the NPA was an inspiration to those who lived in Umlazi.
Nxasana was asked to step down by former justice minister Jeff Radebe, who accused him of failing to disclose his acquittal in the 1985 murder case. He was aged 18 at the time.
At the meeting last month, Nxasana was told he had been denied top secret security clearance for failing to declare the murder acquittal, a R2 000 law society fine and a 2012 traffic offence, and for allegedly wanting to disband NPA integrity management unit head Prince Mokotedi’s unit.
The Sunday Times reported that Mokotedi claimed he had been blocked from investigating allegations that one of the assault cases Nxasana was convicted of in the eighties might in fact have been a murder.
Nxasana’s family, who live in a modest home in E-Section, Umlazi, said the resurrection of the murder claims has put a lot of strain on them.
Neighbours and family members said Nxasana had been caught up in a love triangle in 1985, and his rival had attacked Nxasana and his brother.
Nxasana, speaking to The Witness, said the incident is something he wished he was not reminded about and did not like to talk about.
“I was 18 at the time. Yes, I was at my girlfriend’s place in C-Section and we were attacked. I am forced to talk about the incident against my will. When these guys attacked us, my brother was hacked with a bush knife, and I grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed one guy. Sadly, I heard later that he had passed on.”
He said he had heard that the girlfriend had since died.
“I think she would give you more details about the incident,” he said.
The Mail & Guardian reported last week that the murder took place in 1985 and Nxasana was acquitted by the Durban regional court in 1986.
His older brother, Sbonelo, said his late father had taken Nxasana to the police after hearing about the incident and the subsequent death of one of the attackers.
“This whole thing weighs heavily - not only on Mxolisi, but on the entire family. A tragedy happened and individuals are using that to get back at my brother for whatever reason they have. Go and talk to the community and they will tell you what kind of a person Mxolisi is,” said Sibonelo.
The family said whenever Nxasana returned home, he made a point of attending community functions and going to his childhood church.
Mhlobo Nkosi said Nxasana mixed with everyone when he was around. “I know him from when he was a child. He was not a troublesome person, and he loved soccer and going to the cinema. Mxolisi is a good man but now people are just trying to drag his name through the mud,” said Nkosi.
Reverend Linda Mandindi of the Methodist Church said Nxasana has contributed a lot to the church. “Recently, the church received a water bill of R11 000 due to illegal water connections. I phoned him and explained [our predicament]. Mxolisi told us not to worry and he settled the bill. When we were building this church, he contributed whenever we would run short of material,” said Mandindi.
Khumbuzile Cele said she watched Nxasana growing up in front of her.
“I know him as a very sweet child who respected the adults. As an adult, he still has that respect for people. What happened in 1985 could have happened to any other young man,” said Cele.
The KwaZulu-Natal Law Society said Nxasana is a victim of a flawed vetting process.
“The office of the NDPP [National Director of Public Prosecutions] is an office of the Constitution and as such an appointment to such office should have proceeded with the highest degree of due diligence,” the society’s president Poobalan Govindasamy said.
“The current issues raised by the executive reflects a shocking but not surprising incompetence in the due diligence process which should have addressed in the first place, the issues now raised.”
Nxasana was appointed into the NPA position by President Jacob Zuma last year.
Govindasamy said the situation sent an incorrect message to the public that someone found not guilty in court “may possibly be lacking in security clearance”.
He said the law society had undiminished confidence in Nxasana’s integrity.
The Witness; additional reporting by Sapa
