Mkhwanazi confirms political killings task team fully funded amid explosive allegations of interference

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Police Commissioner, Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, has confirmed that the embattled Political Killings Task Team is now fully funded and operational until March 2026, following a period of political turbulence and institutional uncertainty.

Testifying on Wednesday at the Judicial Commission of Inquiry chaired by former Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, Mkhwanazi revealed that funding has been secured for the task team to continue its work until the end of the 2025/2026 financial year.

This development comes just months after Mkhwanazi made damning allegations implicating senior officials, including suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, in political interference within the SAPS.

At a July 6 media briefing, Mkhwanazi alleged that Mchunu had colluded with “dodgy businesspeople” and criminal networks, including drug cartels, to sabotage SAPS operations—claims now under formal inquiry.

Central to his explosive claims was the disbanding of the Political Killings Task Team, which had been investigating over 120 politically linked murder cases.

Mkhwanazi testified that these dockets were abruptly removed and transferred to SAPS national headquarters in Pretoria, where they remained dormant for months.

However, in a significant reversal, National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola last month ordered that the dockets be returned to the original team.

Mkhwanazi told the commission that a renewed funding request submitted on July 23 was approved, ensuring the task team’s continued operations.

“The team is now fully deployed to do the work,” he stated, adding that initial funding had been granted for the first quarter of the financial year and has since been extended to cover the full term.

During his detailed testimony, Mkhwanazi outlined the origins, structure, and strategy of the task team, emphasising its “unmatched success rate” in tackling politically motivated violence.

He pointed to statistical evidence showing the unit’s effectiveness and confirmed that its mandate has recently expanded to include investigations into attacks on traditional leaders and corruption at the University of Fort Hare in the Eastern Cape.

The Madlanga Commission, which began proceedings in Pretoria this week, is expected to scrutinise Mkhwanazi’s allegations of judicial and ministerial interference, and the broader implications for political accountability and the rule of law in South Africa.

With the task team now back in full force, attention will turn to whether justice will be served in the long-stalled cases.

kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za 

IOL Politics