By Johnathan Paoli
National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola has told Parliament that suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu issued “suspicious” and ultimately “illegal” instructions to disband the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), a move he says he resisted but could not stop.
Appearing before Parliament’s ad-hoc committee probing allegations of criminal infiltration of the police, Masemola described in detail how he was presented with Mchunu’s directive while on leave, and later faced pressure to immediately dissolve the unit investigating political assassinations.
“The directive looked very suspicious. I did the best I could. If I have to be blamed today, that’s okay,” he said.
However, opposition MPs were sceptical.
ActionSA MP Dereleen James opened the day’s questioning with a blunt challenge. She accused him of “giving in” to political pressure, saying he had failed to stand up to Mchunu.
She accused him of “letting the country down”.
Masemola insisted the team never stopped operating and that he continually pressed the minister for answers.
“I kept on saying, ‘Why are you doing this?’” he said.
James countered that his reluctance to defy the minister proved he was not beyond reproach.
She asked why he had not immediately informed President Cyril Ramaphosa or opened a criminal case when the directive arrived.
Masemola replied that he had reported the matter widely, including to the president, but was constrained by the limits of his office.
The national commissioner suggested that Mchunu’s instruction to disband the unit was linked to counterintelligence operations in Gauteng, only becoming clear in May after the arrest of alleged underworld figure Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala.
Masemola said he had long suspected ulterior motives but did not have proof at the time.
Democratic Alliance MP Lisa Schickerling said his failure to immediately intervene after receiving the directive showed weak leadership.
Referring to KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s earlier testimony, Schickerling said it was clear that the SAPS top leadership was divided and driven by political factions.
“There is nothing on paper from you saying you are not in agreement with the closure of the PKTT,” she said.
EFF MP Leigh-Ann Mathys pushed Masemola on whether task teams are created for political reasons.
Masemola denied this, insisting the PKTT investigated killings across parties, including the IFP and DA.
He told MPs that “the team is still operating” and that a new task team is being set up to deal with problems in Gauteng.
He stressed that his office has advertised posts in Crime Intelligence that Mchunu’s directive had tried to freeze.
Masemola said ministers “will ask, and we will advise”, but insisted there were “never problems”.
But under pressure from uMkhonto weSizwe Party MP Vusi Shongwe, he conceded that Mchunu’s instruction amounted to an illegal encroachment.
The committee’s questioning of Masemola continues.
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