By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The suspended police Minister Senzo Mchunu made his first appearance before Parliament Ad Hoc Committee on Thursday to answer to allegations of undue political interference in police operations.
Mchunu’s appearance follows two days of testimony on Monday and Tuesday by suspended deputy commissioner, Shadrack Sibiya, who faced a number of tough questions over his own involvement in the disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) and the removal of 121 case dockets from KwaZulu-Natal to Pretoria.
He sought to clear his name after allegations of political interference levelled against him by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
Mchunu said he took full responsibility for the decision made on 31 December 2024 to disband the task team, which was at the centre of the explosive July media briefing by Mkhwanazi, who claimed political interference led to the disbandment of the PKTT.
“Everyone was aware that this was a task team. A unit would be deliberately established as part of the organogram of the police for a long period of time. Task teams are for a particular purpose and timeframe,” Mchunu said.
He told MPs that national police boss Fannie Masemola had withheld crucial evidence from the Madlanga Commisssion, the judicial inquiry established by President Cyril Ramaphosa to probe the disbandment of the task team and broader allegations of political interference in the criminal justice system.
This, he said, contradicted the version of events presented by Mkhwanazi and Masemola, who told the commission, chaired by retired judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga, that Mchunu had not been briefed on the task team.
“I engaged myself in reports, studies and discussions regarding the police service,” said Mchunu.
His testimony came hours after news that Ramaphosa had suspended inspector general of intelligence Imtiaz Fazel, the latest episode in the crisis engulfing South Africa’s law-enforcement and intelligence structures:
The presidency said Ramaphosa had suspended Fazel on Thursday, pending the outcome of an investigation by parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence into a complaint about his conduct.
The committee invoked section 7(4) of the Intelligence Services Act, which allows the president to suspend the inspector general while an inquiry is under way.
Fazel’s suspension came as both the Madlanga commission and parliament’s ad hoc committee exposed the turmoil in the police service, where intelligence operations, political directives and personal rivalries increasingly overlap.
Together, these developments paint a picture of an institution consumed by internal battles for power and plagued by blurred lines of accountability.
Mchunu also confirmed that he knows North West businessman Oupa “Brown” Mogotsi, who was central to Mkhwanazi’s allegations.
“Yes, I know him,” the minister said.
Mkhwanazi had alleged that Mogotsi had insider knowledge of police operations, including the PKTT’s disbandment, and referred to him as Mchunu’s “associate”.
Mchunu told Adhoc Committee, “I never spoke to Brown Mogotsi in this period, particularly about the PKTT disbandment.”
“How he got to know [about the disbandment] and how he got access to the letter is better explained by him, and that will be the only time I get to know how that happened.”
He told the committee that he had spoken to his chief of staff, Cedric Nkabinde, about the distribution of the letter.
Nkabinde confirmed to Mchunu that he sent it to Masemola and Tebello Mosikili, the acting national commissioner at the time, as well as their personal assistants.
“I wasn’t expecting that he [Mogotsi] would get a hold of my letter unless it was leaked to social media, as seems to have been the case.”
Mchunu will continue with his testimony on Friday, with committee members scheduled to question the minister on Monday.
Furthermore, former police minister Bheki Cele is expected to testify on 23 and 24 October.
The committee has been granted an extension until 28 November by National Assembly (NA) Speaker Thoko Didiza.
Watch Live in the video below:
Video Courtesy of Parliament.