On 14 January 2026, before the Ad Hoc Committee to Investigate Allegations made by Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, former acting police commissioner Khomotso Phahlane testified that Daily Maverick journalist Marianne Thamm had once attended a braai at Paul O'Sullivan's house -- the implied purpose of the gathering was, allegedly, to orchestrate a smear campaign. Daily Maverick's lawyers have written to the chairperson of the committee to set the record straight.

"We wish to place on record that Ms [Marianne] Thamm has never in her life attended a braai at the house of Mr Paul O'Sullivan," noted Daily Maverick's attorney, Charl du Plessis, in a letter addressed to Soviet Lekganyane on 22 January 2026, "nor has she ever attended a meeting involving any of the diverse persons described by General [Khomotso] Phahlane."

Du Plessis called on Lekganyane -- in his role as the chairperson of the Ad Hoc Committee to Investigate Allegations made by Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi -- to require that Phahlane provide proof of his allegations, failing which he should apologise to Thamm.

"As the chairperson will be aware, placing false testimony before parliament constitutes a criminal offence," Du Plessis' wrote, before asking the chairperson to take "appropriate action".

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The proceedings before the ad hoc committee took place at the Good Hope Chamber in Cape Town's parliamentary precinct, which had been selected to host National Assembly sittings following the 2022 fire. Video footage (see from 8;01;00) shows Phahlane apparently quoting from an affidavit of police ministry chief of staff Cedrick Nkabinde, which had been deposed in support of a previous application.

"During the end of 2016 or...