SAPS legal chief: Minister Mchunu’s move to scrap Political Killings Task Team was unlawful |Madlanga Commission

Major General. Patronella Van Rooyen told the Madlanga Commission that Police Minister, Senzo Mchunu, did not have the powers to disband the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) - a decision, she said, “fell outside his mandate”.

Testifying at the commission on Thursday, Rooyen stated unequivocally that the Mchunu did not have the legal authority to make operational decisions such as dissolving a crime investigation unit.

According to her, the minister was responsible for policy and overseeing, and the National Commissioner, Gen. Fannie is responsible for operations.

Van Rooyen who serves as the Component Head of Governance, Legislation and Policy at the Legal Services Division in the South African Police Service, with 42 years of experience, said the disbandment move was unlawful.

“To manage and control the police service, that must be linked to manage and control the police service in the execution of its constitutional mandate.

“And the decision of the minister to close a political task team that was responsible for the investigation of crime, in my view, fell outside the mandate or authority of the minister,” she said, according to Section 207 of the Constitution.

Section 207 of the Constitution establishes national control over the SAPS by outlining the appointment and powers of the National Commissioner.

It mandates the National Commissioner's control over the police service and requires consultation with provincial executives for the appointment of Provincial Commissioners.

Van Rooyen said the disbandment of the PKTT has raised significant internal concerns, prompting her unit to begin a legal review in recent months.

“The implications of the minister's (Mchunu) letter indicate the need for clarity for the organisation as a whole,” she said.

Her testimony supports earlier claims by Masemola, who previously told the commission that Mchunu had encroached his role by intervening directly in operational matters.

“My understanding is that the Minister is responsible for issuing national policing priorities, such as focusing on gangsterism or cash-in-transit heists,” Masemola told the commission.

“But the how - including deployment of personnel, resources, and operational decisions - is within my mandate as National Commissioner.”

Meanwhile, Masemola told the commission that Mchunu told him that President Cyril Ramaphosa had agreed to the disbandment of the PKTT.

kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za

IOL Politics