Retired Interpol Ambassador slams Senzo Mchunu over disbanding of Political Killings Task Team
Former Interpol Ambassador Andy Mashaile criticises suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu for 'unilateral' disbanding of Political Killings Task Team.
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Retired Interpol ambassador Andy Mashaile has strongly criticized Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s decision to unilaterally disband the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), warning that such an action should have involved proper consultation before being carried out.
During an interview with SABC on Thursday, Mashaile argued that Minister Mchunu’s approach was inappropriate and bypassed established protocols.
“The Minister ought to have consulted first,” he said.
“Sometimes the Minister will see things from a different angle and want to advise on operations. You can then call your National Commissioner and say, 'This is what I see, ' and what do you think about certain actions, instead of ordering, ‘do this, do that, or don’t do this or that.’ When you come from that angle, you operate in tandem with your Provincial Commissioner and your department’s Director-General.”
Mashaile stressed that police operations are firmly under the jurisdiction of the National Commissioner.
“For the Minister to have decided to disband this established team, especially as we have learned about creating a new temporary team, should not have happened unilaterally,” he stated.
“At the very least, the Minister should have called the National Commissioner and said, I think the time for the PKTT has come and gone - kindly ensure that it’s wound up, and here are the reasons.
“Alternatively, the Minister could have said: National Commissioner, I am not satisfied with the performance of the PKTT or its challenges, and therefore we should wind it down to form a better or different team to address the issues.”
The controversy came to a head earlier this week at the Madlanga Commission into police conduct.
National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola accused the suspended Minister Mchunu of exceeding his constitutional mandate by ordering the immediate disbandment of the PKTT-an instruction Masemola described as “a total encroachment” on his authority.
In a December 2024 letter to Masemola, Mchunu argued that the task team no longer served its purpose or added value to the police service.
However, Masemola maintained that the Minister’s role is to set national policing priorities, such as targeting gangsterism or cash-in-transit heists, while the national commissioner is responsible for the operational deployment of personnel and resources.
“The how, including deployment of personnel, resources, and operational decisions, is within my mandate as National Commissioner,” Masemola told the Commission.
Masemola also emphasised that the PKTT is a provincial structure, and any concerns should have been raised for engagement rather than an immediate directive.
“To go as far as saying ‘disband now - not even tomorrow’ - that’s direct interference,” he said.
This conflict exposes significant tension within South Africa’s policing leadership amid rising political assassinations, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal.
The disbandment of a unit specifically tasked with investigating political killings has raised troubling questions about the future of such investigations and the autonomy of the South African Police Service.
thabo.makwakwa@inl.co.za
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