'Mchunu cut task team to protect drug cartels'

The inquiry heard this happened when the team closed in on syndicates tied to murder suspects

- Nkateko Joseph Mabasa

The testimony of national police commissioner Fannie Masemola at the Madlanga commission this week placed suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu at the centre of the capture of the justice system by the criminal underworld.

Masemola's version of events corroborates that of KwaZulu-Natal commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who last week said Mchunu protected drug cartels and hampered investigations in the fight against political killings in Gauteng.

Masemola told the commission that phone records seized during the arrests of murder suspects Katiso Molefe and Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala showed a direct association with Mchunu, which explained why a task team on political killings was dismantled abruptly.

Mchunu — who has denied any wrongdoing and called the allegations “wild” when Mkhwanazi first made them in a July media briefing — was placed on special leave and is yet to appear at the inquiry mission chaired by retired judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga. President Cyril Ramaphosa established it to investigate political interference and corruption in the criminal justice system in the wake of Mkhwanazi's claims.

Mkhwanazi told journalists that 121 case dockets had been taken from the task team in early 2025 to shield suspects. The dockets were subsequently returned on 28 August.

This week, Masemola told the commission that the objective had been to strip the task team of Gauteng murder cases and protect cartels linked to Molefe and Matlala.

Echoing Mkhwanazi, he said deputy national police commissioner for crime detection Shadrack Sibiya was instrumental in carrying out Mchunu's directive. Sibiya, who now faces disciplinary charges, sent out a letter to transfer 121 dockets from the task team to the national police office.

Masemola told the commission that Mchunu's order was an overreach of his duties and interfered with the operation of the South African Police Service (SAPS).