WATCH | Mchunu defends decision to disband Political Killings Task Team
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu gives testimony before Parliament's ad hoc committee probing police corruption over three days.
Image: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
Suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, appearing before Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee probing police corruption, defended his move on the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) routine practice of disbanding specialised task teams once their mandate is fulfilled.
Mchunu stated during his testimony in Parliament on Thursday that task teams — typically established for specific objectives, timeframes, and resources — are a well-established operational approach.
The Minister was questioned about the disbanding of the high-profile Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) amid allegations linking him to criminal syndicates that purportedly influenced this decision.
“Task teams are created for particular objectives within certain timeframes,” Mchunu explained when cross-examined by Advocate Norman Arendse, the inquiry’s evidence leader.
“For example, the PKTT was conceived with a clear six-month operational period. It was extended after 2022 but was not renewed afterward. The discontinuation was not arbitrary — it was a matter of funding prioritisation and strategic restructuring, not undue influence.”
Mchunu elaborated that the motivation for not renewing the PKTT’s mandate beyond 2022 was financial, not based on improper considerations.
He pointed to the establishment of a specialised police unit that absorbed the PKTT’s functions, rendering the task team's continuation redundant.
The inquiry emerged from explosive allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi during a press conference on July 6.
Mkhwanazi revealed deep-rooted criminal syndicate infiltration in SAPS and the broader criminal justice system.
He accused Minister Mchunu of playing a pivotal role in disbanding the PKTT to protect affiliated syndicates.
The committee scrutinises these claims in a three-day hearing, with Mchunu’s evidence shaping a critical chapter in the ongoing saga of police corruption that has gripped the nation.
“The existence and dissolution of task teams must be seen through the lens of operational necessity and financial viability, rather than suspicion or speculation,” Mchunu told the committee.
thabo.makwakwa@inl.co.za
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