Speaker, according to the Hansard of 21 August 2012, in the debate on the Lonmin mine massacre, hon Minister Shabangu is recorded as saying:
I must also indicate, Mr Lekota, that this government never calls soldiers to attack communities. During your era as the Minister of Defence in Khutsong, you called soldiers to attack. You are the one who is more brutal than the ANC.
She was called upon to withdraw the remark, but insisted that it was true. She was supported by hon Minister Molewa, who claimed to have been present during the events. The record of Hansard is there for all to read.
The serious and misleading nature of such allegations, made in this House, require honest and urgent disclosure from the two Ministers. Were they honestly under the impression that a Minister of Defence could deploy the army or were they wittingly misleading the House? It is clear to everybody what section 201(2) of the Constitution of the RSA stipulates. It compels the President to deploy the Defence Force. The Constitution also compels him to inform Parliament of such a step.
The only conclusion that can therefore be made is that both of these Ministers deliberately misled this august House and the people of South Africa. We therefore request the Ministers to come clean and to apologise for their reckless, unsubstantiated remarks and to indicate that they were, in fact, deliberately misleading the House. Only the truth can set them free. [Applause.]