Suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu
National police commissioner Fannie Masemola told the Madlanga commission into police corruption on Monday that the directive by suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu to disband a task team on political killings was an overreach and disruptive.
Masemola said he disagreed with the instruction to “immediately” disband the team, and instead advised Mchunu to implement a phased, gradual wind-down if disbandment was unavoidable.
The task team was established in 2018 to deal with politically motivated murders, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal. It played a central role in prosecuting cases linked to election-related violence and political rivalry.
President Cyril Ramaphosa set up the commission chaired by retired judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga after KwaZulu-Natal commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi made allegations of corruption and political interference in the criminal justice system which implicated Mchunu.
Masemola said efforts to convince Mchunu — who has since been suspended but denies wrongdoing — of the importance of the task team failed. He escalated the matter to Ramaphosa, who only responded that he would speak to Mchunu.
When asked by Madlanga why he advised Mchunu to implement a phased out approach instead, Masemola said although he disagreed with the decision he could not take his own minister to court.
“It is important to note that the [task team] had proven to be an essential unit in managing political related cases particularly during periods of heightened tensions such as election cycles. The abrupt directive to disband the unit not only disregarded ongoing investigation processes but also undermined the collaborative efforts that were in place to ensure justice and stability in affected regions,” Masemola said.
“This decision taken without prior consultation or warning created significant uncertainty among key stakeholders such as the npa and the risk of disrupting the momentum of crucial investigations.”
He said the disbandment followed shortly after the task team assisted Gauteng police in arresting suspects Katiso Molefe and Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala last December in connection with the kidnapping of Jerry Moshogwa. Weeks later, Mchunu ordered the team’s dissolution.
Masemola told the commission that a concerned party claimed Matlala was close to deputy national commissioner Shadrack Sibiya, and that Sibiya could not be impartial in the case. He said the case is still under investigation and declined to reveal the extent of Sibiya and Matlala’s relationship. Molefe and Matlala have since been charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Masemola said he instructed crime intelligence boss Dumisani Khumalo to investigate Matlala and Molefe. Khumalo later faced fraud and corruption charges, which Mkhwanazi last week testified were intended to derail the investigation. He insisted that the arrests by the task team were the right decision.
Masemola said Sibiya was instrumental in forwarding Mchunu’s directive within the police, which Masemola himself had refused to implement. According to him, Sibiya issued a subsequent letter under his own name to disband the team, which Masemola refused to sign. Masemola also testified that before the disbandment he met Mchunu, who never raised the matter.
“Despite this, at no point during our interaction did the minister indicate any intention to disband the [task team] let alone immediately or express concerns about its operations,” Masemola said.
“This lack of prior warning made the subsequent developments all the more unexpected and perplexing as there had been no communication or indication suggesting that such a drastic decision was imminent.”
Evidence leader Terry Motau asked whether the Mchunu ever “expressed any dissatisfaction or concerns about the task team performance and its activities?”
“No he never expressed any dissatisfaction or unhappiness, in fact he had not been briefed on what the [task team] was,” Masemola responded.
He testified that he later received Mchunu’s disbandment letter from his chief of staff in a WhatsApp message. The letter read: “Further existence of this task team is not required nor is it adding any value to policing.”
Masemola said: “I take it as an encroachment to the operational activities of the SAPS [South African Police Service] because he goes as far as saying when it must be disbanded without [me] knowing the reasons why, I definitely regard this as an overreach to the functions of the national commission.”
He added that he could not understand why the team should be disbanded immediately.
Madlanga asked whether “with or without the how, the instruction was unlawful?”
“That is my interpretation,” said Masemola.
He said Mkhwanazi had phoned him about Mchunu’s letter after it reached the media. Masemola reassured the KwaZulu-Natal commissioner that although he was on leave, he did not support the directive and had not been consulted.
“Given the fact that the minister was instructing and not soliciting our views on the disbandment of the [task team] I deemed it necessary to speak to the president,” said Masemola.
He said he told Ramaphosa in February that dissolving “such a successful team” without due process was damaging. The president, he said, promised to speak to Mchunu, but never got back to him.
Masemola said if disbandment was necessary, it should have been a phased process: “If ever it has to be done it cannot be done in this abrupt manner.”
He said he asked Mchunu: “What is the reason for the disbandment of the team? I never got a reason as to why.”
Commissioner Sandile Khumalo asked whether Mchunu might have been aware of the task team’s expansion beyond KwaZulu-Natal. Masemola said he could not confirm what the minister knew.
He said the team had included prosecutors, and its abrupt closure left investigations incomplete. Pending cases before court, he said, were disregarded in the minister’s directive.