Madlanga Commission | Masemola accuses Senzo Mchunu of 'total encroachment' over task team disbandment

National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola has accused suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu of exceeding his constitutional mandate by ordering the immediate disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team  - an instruction Masemola described as “a total encroachment” on his authority.

In a letter sent to Masemola in December 2024, Mchunu argued the task team should be disbanded as it no longer served its purpose or added value to the police service.

But Masemola, in an affidavit submitted to the Madlanga Commission, rejected the directive and said the minister had blurred the legal line between setting national policing priorities and interfering in operational decisions

“My understanding is that the Minister is responsible for issuing national policing priorities, such as focusing on gangsterism or cash-in-transit heists,” Masemola told the commission.

“But the how - including deployment of personnel, resources, and operational decisions - is within my mandate as National Commissioner.”

Commissioner Mbuyiseli Madlanga questioned Masemola to clarify the distinction between policy direction and managerial execution.

In response, Masemola stood firm, stating that Mchunu’s directive to immediately dissolve the task team, without consultation or justification, was a clear violation of operational independence.

“In this case, the Political Killings Task Team is a provincial structure. If the Minister had concerns, he could have raised them, and we would have engaged,” Masemola said.

“But to go as far as saying ‘disband now, not even tomorrow’ - that’s direct interference.”

Masemola stressed that while the Minister was free to propose strategic priorities and even comment on methods, the implementation, especially down to resource allocation and operational decisions - remained the sole responsibility of the National Commissioner.

“I don’t expect the Minister to instruct on how to perform operational functions,” he stated.

The dispute revealed deep tensions at the top of South Africa’s policing structure, especially in the wake of escalating political assassinations in provinces like KZN.

The disbandment of a unit specifically tasked with investigating political killings raised questions about the future of high-profile probes and the independence of SAPS.

Meanwhile, South Africans continue to follow the commission following KZN Police Commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who made allegations against Mchunu for political interference in the SAPS. 

Mkhwanazi took the stand last week, implicating MPs, including the metros police officers in Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg in corruption.

kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za 

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