How Mchunu bypassed top cop in disbanding elite police unit

POLICE Minister Senzo Mchunu conceded that national police commissioner Fannie Masemola, with whom he confirmed having “a good working relationship”, should have been the first to advise on the future of the SAPS Political Killings Task Team (PKTT).

Mchunu, who has since been placed on enforced leave, proceeded to disband the PKTT without consulting the very officials best positioned to brief him, he confirmed to the Madlanga Commission on Thursday. 

He also told commission chairperson retired Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga that there was no meeting, no engagement and no briefing from senior SAPS leadership before he issued the directive to shut down the PKTT on December 31, 2024.

“I took a decision without Masemola,” he admitted.

The minister’s directive instructed that the PKTT be disbanded “immediately” — a term he struggled to define before the commission.

Madlanga asked whether there was any prior engagement before this “bombshell” instruction.

Mchunu replied: “No.”

The PKTT, established to respond to politically motivated murders largely concentrated in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), had been widely praised within SAPS and by external observers for improving arrest rates and coordination.

Mchunu acknowledged that the team’s work “was always praised,” yet it remained the only task team to be dissolved under his tenure.

Madlanga questioned why this specific unit drew the minister’s attention when budget pressures affected many SAPS units.

Mchunu said the PKTT’s costs “caught our attention,” but struggled to explain why it alone was singled out.

The commissioner also pressed Mchunu on the timing of his decision. Mchunu said the idea came to him during a “reflection period” on 29 December.

However, Madlanga pointed out that as recently as December 28, the day before, Mchunu and Masemola had been together at a funeral in Empangeni.

Despite already contemplating the disbandment, Mchunu did not raise the matter with the national commissioner.

Mchunu further failed to give a clear explanation for the urgency implied by the instruction to shut down the PKTT “immediately.”

He insisted the wording did not imply an instantaneous shutdown and should be read in context.

“‘Immediately’ — I know exactly where it came from,” he said. “It doesn’t mean switching off a light. It must be read with what I requested from the National Commissioner.”

He stressed he was not influenced by anyone in making the decision. Mchunu is accused of interfering with police operation by disbanding the PKTT, which apparently had been involved in the alleged ‘harassment’ of tenderpreneur and attempted murder-accused Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala.

Mchunu’s testimony is expected to resume on Friday.  

Cape Times