Madlanga Commission: Mchunu 'reacted with anger' at suggestion PKTT should not be disbanded immediately

Suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu allegedly lost his cool in a meeting to discuss the winding down of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT).

Divisional Commissioner for Crime Intelligence Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo told the Madlanga Commission on Wednesday that Mchunu reacted with anger when Khumalo suggested the unit should not be disbanded.

Khumalo said the minister reacted in anger during a meeting in late March 2025 to discuss the disbandment of the PKTT when the Crime Intelligence boss said the unit was dealing with a new case, previously under investigation, which was now going to court.

Khumalo said that, upon mentioning an update about a new case that was now going to court, the minister got angry and started making accusations against him (Khumalo).

“The minister seemed angry with me. At this point, the national commissioner and I were still proposing that the disbandment should not be implemented, but if it was going to be implemented, that it be a gradual disbandment, as proposed in the 6 March meeting.”

He added that the minister simply would not listen to anyone.

"He criticised me for being in charge of the PKTT and Crime Intelligence, and questioned why the national commissioner and I were so invested in keeping the PKTT."

Khumalo said Mchunu was completely against a gradual approach and wanted the immediate disbandment of the task team.

He said when Mchunu was reminded that the PKTT was initiated in part by President Cyril Ramaphosa, Mchunu said that ‘we should not mention the president.’

“He mentioned that he was tired of hearing about the President. Then he said that the President was in agreement that the PKTT must be disbanded.

“I was shocked by this revelation since the president was briefed about the work of the PKTT after it was deployed to the Eastern Cape to assist in the Fort Hare University matter,” Khumalo said.

He said that the meeting, which ended abruptly, was also attended by the two deputy ministers, Cassell Mathale and Polly Boshielo. 

Khumalo mentioned that in the March 6 meeting, the winding-down plan was suggested by Masemola and was supported by Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili, the Deputy National Commissioner for Policing.

Khumalo told the Commission that Mosikili suggested that ‘it would be dangerous and not cost-effective’ to disband the PKTT immediately.

However, the Deputy National Commissioner for Crime Detection, Lieutenant Shadrack Sibiya, and the Minister’s Chief of Staff, Cedrick Nkabinde, were not happy with a winding-down plan.

Khumalo said Sibiya and Nkabinde were concerned that Khumalo’s winding-down plan did not include the option for immediate disbandment . 

“The winding down would mean that the dockets under investigation will remain with the PKTT, something that Sibiya and Nkabinde were against,” he said.

He said that at that time, the 121 dockets under investigation by the PKTT had not yet been handed over as per Sibiya’s earlier instruction.

Khumalo said that Sibiya and Nkabinde did not even want any reference or mention of the PKTT- they wanted the task team to be referred to as ‘investigators’.

gcwalisile.khanyile@inl.co.za