'I’ll testify…virtually or not at all': O’Sullivan cites real murder threat before Parliament ad hoc committee

Private investigator Paul O’Sullivan has rejected claims that he fled South Africa to avoid appearing before Parliament’s ad hoc committee, saying he is willing to testify, but only virtually, and refusing to submit to questioning by what he called “criminals masquerading as MPs”.

In a post on X, ActionSA leader Athol Trollip said rumours that O’Sullivan had left the country rather than appear before the committee added “grist to the grind” around concerns he had raised about O’Sullivan’s public attacks on KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.

Trollip claimed his own questions on social media had resulted in threats from O’Sullivan and suggested the investigator was now unwilling to defend his allegations. “Makes one think, doesn’t it!” Trollip said.

In a written submission to the committee that IOL has seen, O’Sullivan dismissed claims he was avoiding accountability, confirming he was overseas until at least the end of February due to “urgent family business."

He said he remained “very happy to testify, virtually, provided we can agree on a suitable date.

O’Sullivan said his evidence would include his submission to the Madlanga Commission and a criminal case he claims to have opened against Senzo Mchunu's chief of staff, Cedric Nkabinde. However, he said he would refuse to answer questions about his personal life, family, or events prior to his emigration to South Africa.

He formally applied to testify virtually, citing personal security concerns and alleging the existence of a “criminal enterprise within the police that wants me murdered.''

He argued that the committee’s rules explicitly allow virtual testimony under “exceptional circumstances” and rejected suggestions that physical attendance was the default position.

Central to his security concerns, O’Sullivan accused Mkhwanazi of unlawfully inciting violence against him during parliamentary proceedings.

He alleged that the committee failed in its duty of care by not intervening. He cited a statement made by Mkhwanazi in which the police commissioner said: “But, it is time that this country must not sit back and be run by Mr. Paul O'Sullivan. And if government fails to act on it, the men and women in this country, they're going to take it upon themselves to do something drastically on it.

''And it might not be what this government wants to do, because he has gone too deep, in showing that he's got control all over.”

According to O’Sullivan, what Mkhwanazi “really meant” was that he knew O’Sullivan was aware of crimes he had allegedly committed and that he wanted members of the public to “take me out”. He said the committee’s failure to censure Mkhwanazi resulted in him receiving “credible intelligence of a very real threat to murder me”.

O’Sullivan further alleged that what he called Mkhwanazi’s “social media troll-factory'', which he claimed was sponsored by the crime intelligence slush fund, had generated numerous threats calling for violence against him.

He argued that the committee members who did not act against Mkhwanazi were either reckless or intentional in condoning criminal conduct and had effectively become accomplices.

Invoking his constitutional rights, O’Sullivan said he would not return to South Africa to testify in person, alleging that pressure for physical attendance was an attempt to place him “in the right place at the right time, to be murdered.'' 

O’Sullivan’s security concerns come in the wake of the murder of Marius van der Merwe, known as Witness D.

He said his seven children had been moved out of the country for safety reasons.

Despite his criticism of the committee and certain MPs, including EFF leader Julius Malema and members of the MK Party, O’Sullivan reiterated his willingness to testify. “It’s virtual appearance, or not at all,” he said.

He also said he would never allow a convicted criminal like malema to tell him that hei is not above the law. 

The ad hoc committee, which was established in 2025 to investigate corruption allegations made by Mkhwanazi against senior police and justice officials, has had its mandate extended to 20 February and has resumed its work.

Chairperson Molapi Lekganyane has warned that MPs face tight deadlines to conclude hearings and finalise a report.

Former national police commissioner Khomotso Phahlane is testifying before the committee on Wednesday.

Several high-profile witnesses are expected to appear, including Crime Intelligence head Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo and former IPID head Robert McBride. North West businessman Brown Mogotsi has also requested to testify virtually, placing renewed focus on witness safety and parliamentary procedure. 

hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za 

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