Police Minister Fikile Mbalula must provide protection to African National Congress (ANC) MP Dr Makhosi Khoza following multiple death threats against her, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Monday.

The party would ask Mbalula to assign her VIP protection, DA MP Zak Mbhele said.

Khoza is chairperson of Parliament's public service and administration portfolio committee.

"It was time for Mbalula to act, as National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete had ignored calls to intervene and help Khoza," he said.

"ANC Chief Whip Jackson Mthembu has written to Mbete as well as ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe about Dr Khoza’s safety concern, yet no official commitment to protect Dr Khoza has been forthcoming," he said.

Mbhele said while the ANC-led government remained silent on Khoza’s protection, millions of rands in taxpayers' money had been spent protecting ANC presidential candidate Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who currently did not hold public office.

"The double standards are there for all to see."

Too much was spent on frivolous VIP protection, due to a "bloated Cabinet". In Khoza's case however, there was a clear need to protect her and her family.

"We are continuing to see how the [President Jacob] Zuma ANC continue to protect their own elite politicians, rather than the people they are supposed to serve," he said.

'21 days to live'

He called on Mbalula to ensure Khoza was not left to face threats for standing up against corruption and state capture.

Police spokesperson Vuyo Mhaga told News24 on Monday that a special investigator had been assigned to Khoza's case, had been in regular contact with her and had discussed the recent published text messages sent to her and her daughter over the last week.

Khoza posted screengrabs of the threatening texts on her Facebook page over the weekend. They said she had "21 days to live".

The Daily Maverick's investigative unit Scorpio reported on Saturday that the number belonged to Black First Land First. The party denied this and dismissed it as "fake news" peddled by the "white media".

Khoza revealed at a public debate last Tuesday that her daughter had received death threats from the same people.

"Even today, they didn't send it [the threats] to me. They have sent it to my daughter. Why should I die in silence?" she told the audience.

Parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo told City Press last week the issue was receiving the "necessary attention". They had previously condemned the threats, he said.