Suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu.
Members of parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating allegations of corruption in the South African Police Service on Wednesday took suspended minister Senzo Mchunu to task over his assertion that he did not think a team looking into political killings was still relevant.
Pressed by MPs, Mchunu admitted to having links to North West businessman Brown Mogotsi and also that President Cyril Ramaphosa and national police commissioner Fannie Masemola were not aware of his directive to disband the KwaZulu-Natal-based task team. He, however, denied any links to crime syndicates and any association with murder suspect and alleged leader of the ‘Big Five’ cartel Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
He also denied issuing a directive to remove 121 dockets from the task team, which was carried out by suspended deputy national police commissioner for crime detection Shadrack Sibiya.
Mchunu defended his remarks, first revealed by Masemola last month, that political killings in South Africa had largely occurred before the advent of democracy in 1994.
Asked about this by Patriotic Alliance MP, Ashley Sauls, on Wednesday, Mchunu maintained that crime rates for murder and robberies were higher and should be the priority.
Leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, Julius Malema, asked Mchunu whether he still held the same opinion carried in his directive to disband the political killings task team. In the December letter, the minister wrote: “My observation in this regard, as indicated above, is that [the] further existence of this team is no longer required nor is it adding any value to policing South Africa.”
On Wednesday, Malema asked: “Do you still stand by that?”
Mchunu responded, saying, “The answer is yes,”.
He said this year there had been one case of a political killing in March and seven cases altogether in 2024. The “monetary investment” and deployment of officers from other stations was “no longer optimising use of resources optimal to the value”, Mchunu added.
The ad hoc committee is investigating claims made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi that Mchunu acted in collusion with criminal syndicates to undermine investigations and disestablish the task team.
Sibiya told the committee that Mkhwanazi’s allegations were part of a succession battle within the police service and that the task team operated as an “elite” and “unaccountable” unit.
The Madlanga commission, established by Ramaphosa, is investigating the same allegations and has this week heard from anonymous police investigators how the assassination of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart by Johannesburg police detective Pule Tau uncovered a criminal network which extended to the police service and politicians.
On Wednesday, Sauls highlighted the task team’s extension and budget requests and how its staff complement decreased from 152 members to 110, whereas the budget increased from 57.1 million in the 2019/2020 financial year to 97.5 million in 2021/2022.
Mchunu said the team initially added value, but there had been a drop in cases over the years.
ActionSA MP Dereleen James asked Mchunu about his strategy behind disbanding the task team and the plans he had to combat crime in other areas.
“What plan did you have in place for the Cape Flats?” she asked.
Mchunu responded saying: “The plan that I had for the Cape Flats was that once we have a new division coming up — that we decided on last year, Operation and Response Service, we will then be able to optimally use all the units.”
James asked: “General Masemola and Mkhwanazi both testified that you were under the mistaken belief [that the task team] was the unit investigating drug-related cartels in Gauteng. Are you aware of that?”
Mchunu responded, saying, “No, I deny that, very strongly.”
James asked why two senior officers would make such claims.
Mchunu said Mkhwanazi took “a much more confrontational line” to his directive and added that he was surprised when Mkhwanazi accused him of protecting drug cartels.