D-Day for Senzo Mchunu to clarify alleged political interference at SAPS

THE controversial directive to disband the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) will come under scrutiny when suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu appears before the parliamentary inquiry into allegations of corruption within the criminal justice system.

- MAYIBONGWE MAQHINA

It will be the first time that he is officially responding to KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s damning allegations linking him to criminal syndicates that have infiltrated the police and the criminal justice system.

Mchunu issued the directive to National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola on 31 December 2024 to immediately disband the PKTT, which he deemed was no longer required.

He now has a mammoth task to dispel some of the testimony that has been made at the inquiry, largely showing that he had no authority to disband the PKTT as this was an operational decision to be made by the national commissioner.

Testifying before the Ad Hoc Committee last week, Mkhwanazi said the PKTT was formed after the police management was given a directive by the Inter-Ministerial-Committee (IMC) to come up with a plan to investigate political killings.