Mathale slams Mchunu’s PKTT disbandment as “impractical” and unilateral

By Johnathan Paoli

Deputy Police Minister Cassel Mathale told Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee on Tuesday that he first learned of the disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) through social media.

Mathale said he initially dismissed the letter announcing the task team’s dissolution as “fake news.”

Appearing before the committee in Cape Town, he stressed that the disbandment of such a specialised unit should involve consultation with all relevant stakeholders, including the task team’s leadership and the national commissioner.

“When I first saw the letter on social media, I dismissed it, because it was odd to see something like that. Later, when [Police] Minister [Senzo] Mchunu confirmed it, I couldn’t understand what motivated him. The way it was written, it was not practical to implement. The word ‘immediately’ was the problem,” he said.

Mathale, who served as deputy minister under both Bheki Cele and Mchunu, testified that he had