Bheki Cele adds to embattled Senzo Mchunu’s woes

ONLY President Cyril Ramaphosa - as the person responsible for the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) which birthed the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) - had the power to disband the elite unit.

That is according to former police minister Bheki Cele when he contradicted suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on matters related to the formation and disestablishment of the PKTT.

“In my view, the PKTT was established by the IMC under the leadership of the president; therefore, only the president could disestablish it,” he told the parliamentary inquiry probing allegations made by KZN Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.

Mchunu issued his directives to National Commissioner Fannie Masemola, ordering the disbandment of the PKTT and freezing of vacancies within the Crime Intelligence, which sparked Mkhwanazi’s briefing on July 6.

Mchunu previously told the inquiry that no IMC was overseeing the PKTT in the seventh administration, and he disbanded it for various reasons that included budgetary constraints and a new organogram providing for specialised units and discontinued the task team.

However, Cele said he did not remember anywhere, as a person involved in the IMC, the task team being disbanded until he saw Mchunu’s letter of directives issued on December 31, 2024.

Mkhwanazi had claimed that Mchunu disbanded the task team for the benefit of criminal cartels. 

“Any disestablishment of the PKTT would have been done with departments that form part of a steering committee of IMC, which has oversight over PKTT,” he said, adding that it could not be that the minister of Police did not take on board the rest of the IMC.

Cele also said a minister could not just establish or disband the task team, but had to do so through the national commissioner.

“This one (PKTT) is part of it, though announced by the president, calling an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC).”

He added that the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster should also have discussed the matter, and Ramaphosa consulted before Mchunu disbanded the task team. Mchunu had claimed that Ramaphosa agreed when he briefed him about the decision to disband. 

Earlier, Cele said he was taken aback by the directive that disbanded the PKTT on the eve of the New Year.

“I realised one of the major problems was the issue of the task team that was dismantled, but I also knew the PKTT was dismantled because I saw the letter of 31 December 2024, which I must say personally, I was taken aback for several reasons I can explain,” he said.

Cele noted with concern that there was no consultation on the matters raised in the letter, even with Crime Intelligence on the vacancies.

“The real one (directive) that has taken centre is PKTT. When I looked at the letter, I said this can't be.”

Cele also said Mkhwanazi was not the first person to speak about the infiltration of the criminal justice system, and mentioned Western Cape Judge Daniel Thulare.

uMkhonto weSizwe Party MP Sibonelo Nomvalo said Cele has discredited the grounds on which Mchunu took to disband  PKTT.

“Mchunu relied on four things. The first one is that he claims to have constitutional powers to make the decision that he took on that day. The second one, he claims that there are complaints that he received from members of the public - one of those was a complaint from Mary de Haas, a complaint from Patricia Mashale, and he says the other complaint he cannot reveal because of its nature. Some people requested not to be revealed for their safety.

“The third one for his decision was budgetary concerns, as he had some budgetary concerns, and the fourth one is that there was a 2019 work study that was done,” Nomvalo said.

“He (Cele) has actually, in summary, discredited all the grounds upon which the minister relied, and the unfortunate part is that even the minister himself could not take us into confidence because he was full of contradictions,” Nomvalo said.

Cape Times