The police committee in Parliament isn't happy. They want to know why Major General Wally Rhoode — the head of the Presidential Protection Unit — was never held accountable for how he handled the Phala Phala burglary investigation.

Rhoode was cleared in an internal SAPS disciplinary process. But the committee says that outcome doesn't add up, especially when compared to what the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) found. IPID's investigation pointed to problems in how Rhoode handled the matter. SAPS said he wasn't guilty. The committee says these two versions are hard to reconcile.

Some MPs are now worried it looks like a cover-up.

The concern is simple: police rules say Rhoode should have reported the burglary to his immediate superior. He didn't. And yet, nobody held him accountable for that. The committee also suspects SAPS rushed to close the case without properly checking whether Rhoode's boss authorised his travel arrangements or his decision to investigate the matter himself.

Ian Cameron, who chairs the Portfolio Committee on Police, put it plainly.

"The fact that Major General Rhoode was never held accountable is both unacceptable and carries the potential risk of undermining public trust in the SAPS. Accountability can't be selective, particularly when senior officers are involved."

Cameron said the integrity of the police service depends on consistent discipline and transparency.

Now the committee wants to call Rhoode in to answer questions. But they first need to talk to Parliament's Impeachment Committee to make sure they don't step on each other's toes. The Phala Phala matter is also part of the impeachment work, so they want to avoid duplication.

Cameron said they'll figure out the next steps after that meeting.

The committee has promised to keep pushing until every question about the Phala Phala burglary and the investigation that followed is answered properly. They say they'll engage everyone involved to make sure public confidence in the police isn't damaged further.

This whole thing goes back to June 2022, when someone broke into President Cyril Ramaphosa's farm at Phala Phala in Limpopo and stole a large amount of foreign currency. The incident sparked a huge political scandal, with questions about where the money came from and whether the president reported the burglary properly. Ramaphosa faced an impeachment inquiry over it, but survived.

Rhoode was the officer in charge of protecting the president at the time. His handling of the case — including whether he reported it up the chain of command — has been under scrutiny ever since. IPID found that there were grounds for disciplinary action. But SAPS's internal process let him off.

Now MPs want to know why.