By Johnathan Paoli
Suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya told Parliament’s ad hoc committee late on Monday night that members of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) were bribed by suspects in the University of Fort Hare corruption case, and that South Africa’s intelligence system is “collapsed, compromised, and politically paralysed”.
The committee is investigating allegations of criminal infiltration in the country’s law enforcement agencies, including the disbanding of the PKTT.
“Evidence shows that PKTT officers were bribed by accused number one in the Fort Hare case. They were staying in hotels, being given clothing, and paid off while pretending to investigate,” Sibiya said.
The committee immediately called for further investigation.
He said a detailed report on the allegations had been submitted to both the Hawks and the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).
The Fort Hare case involves inflated security tenders and killings of university officials. The PKTT had been deployed to investigate possible political motives, but Sibiya said its work was compromised by internal corruption.
Sibiya said the task team became “a law unto itself”, operating without oversight. They reported to no one, controlled their own budgets, and resisted accountability, he told MPs.
He said suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu’s decision to dissolve the task team in December 2024 was a last resort to save the credibility of SAPS.
Committee members asked why the misconduct had gone undetected. Sibiya blamed weak oversight and a culture of impunity.
Sibiya also told MPs that South Africa’s Crime Intelligence Division had collapsed, saying the country no longer had the capacity for proactive policing.
He said the problem went beyond the disbanded task team, describing systemic failure inside Crime Intelligence.
According to Sibiya, the division’s current head, Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo, holds two positions simultaneously — leading both Crime Intelligence and the PKTT — something he called “untenable.”
“That is very wrong. You cannot investigate and collect intelligence at the same time. “It’s a conflict of interest that destroys accountability,” Sibiya said.
He cited the assassinations of municipal councillors, whistleblowers, and police officers as examples of crimes that could have been prevented if intelligence systems were functioning.
Sibiya said that during his tenure overseeing national investigations, he repeatedly requested briefings from Crime Intelligence but was met with silence or selective leaks.
Committee chairperson Soviet Lekganyane said the failure of intelligence structures “had implications for constitutional governance and the safety of citizens”.
He said the committee would subpoena additional documents and communication logs to verify Sibiya’s claims.
In his testimony, Sibiya also rejected allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and Lieutenant-General Khumalo that a politically-linked “Big Five” cartel controls major criminal operations in the country.
He described the claim as a fabrication designed to smear honest officers and inflame the public.
“If the Big Five truly existed, why have there been no arrests?” Sibiya asked.
Mkhwanazi had alleged that Sibiya and Mchunu were protecting senior figures in the cartel, which he said was involved in drug trafficking and assassinations.
Sibiya told MPs that the allegations were politically motivated and based on conspiracy. He said the repeated references to the cartel had damaged the credibility of law enforcement.
Committee members asked Sibiya whether intelligence reports had been compiled on the alleged network. He said multiple Crime Intelligence assessments found “no coordinated network operating under that name,” but identified independent syndicates that occasionally worked together.
“All the evidence will be made available to Parliament,” he said.
The testimony followed weeks of public tension between senior police officers. Mkhwanazi had accused Sibiya of misleading the nation about the fate of sensitive case dockets from the task team, while Sibiya said the files were already dormant when he took over oversight.
The committee is expected to continue questioning Sibiya on Tuesday.
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