Parliament has opened a criminal case against forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan.
This is after his abrupt walkout from the ad hoc committee meeting last month and the threatening messages he allegedly sent to suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu’s chief of staff Cedric Nkabinde.
The messages were allegedly sent in November.
Parliament’s legal adviser Andile Tetyana told the ad hoc committee during a virtual meeting on Monday afternoon that the case was opened last Thursday at the Cape Town police station.
“On Friday, we were informed by the Cape Town police station that the matter will be investigated by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, commonly known as the Hawks,” he said.
“Importantly, the referral of this case to the Hawks makes it clear that the acts which Mr O’Sullivan committed on November 19 2025, in respect of the Mr Nkabinde incident, and on February 26 2026, in respect of the walkout incident, have been classified as national priority offences in terms of the subject investigation, presumably because they took place in parliament.”
Nkabinde was testifying before the committee last year on November 19, when he received a text message from O’Sullivan.
Nkabinde read the message to the committee, which said: “Get ready, you lying crook. I am going to make sure you spend some years in prison. You were bribed by [Lt-Gen Nhlanhla] Mkhwanazi and [Jan] Mabula. Now you will pay for your crimes guaranteed.”
Mabula is the former North West Police Deputy Commissioner.
On February 26, O’Sullivan walked out of the committee venue while he was still under examination.
READ|Parliament paid R80k for O’Sullivan’s two-day appearance before ad hoc committee
The committee then asked him to reappear, saying he was still under examination when he abandoned the committee proceedings without the permission of the chair, Soviet Lekganyane.
Before walking out, he had been asked to comment on an alleged international crime syndicate.
After responding, he left the meeting, saying he was in parliament of his own free will.
MK Party MP David Skosana objected, shouting that O’Sullivan could not simply leave.
He said O’Sullivan was behaving in the same way as former national director of public prosecutions Shamila Batohi had in another forum.
O’Sullivan, who later reappeared before the committee, submitted a letter of apology to parliament but requested that certain sections of the letter be off the official record, citing the sensitive nature of personal information.
Reacting to the news, MPs welcomed the decision that a criminal case has been opened.
“We can’t have somebody in this country who is a law unto themselves,” said Skosana.
DA MP Ian Cameron said the process needed to take its course. “I don’t think it would be fair if he did not face any scrutiny like any ordinary South African would.”
PA MP Ashley Sauls said: “He [O’Sullivan] has done wrong, action should be taken, and we should not pull back now. We support the action that has been taken.”
Sowetan
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