By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu was back in Parliament on Tuesday to finalise his testimony before the ad hoc committee investigating police corruption and interference.
Mchunu faced questions from MPs, where he continued defending his directive to arbitrarily disband the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT)and whether his decision was influenced by people who are allegedly implicated in crime.
In today’s proceedings, He conceded to MPs that he had not beforehand told President Cyril Ramaphosa about his controversial directive to disband the PKTT at the end of last year.
Mchunu also denied being part of any criminal conspiracy to move focus away from organised crime by disbanding the task team.
He explicitly denied having any relationship with Gauteng organised crime accused and alleged Big Five cartel member Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
And he reiterated that he only vaguely knew North West ANC-aligned businessman Brown Mogotsi, whose business in Mahikeng was recently searched as part of a police investigation.
“I have never met Matlala… I have never seen him [with] my naked eye,” Mchunu said.
As for Mogotsi, Mchunu again insisted that even though he has known the businessman since 2017, he viewed Mogotsi as a “comrade”.
The committee is running parallel to the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry that is also investigating accusations of criminal infiltration into law enforcement.
Both these sets of hearings were formed in response to an explosive press conference that KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi held in July 6, 2025.
ANC MP Thokozile Sokanyile told the minister that the timing of his directive to disband the PKTT was questionable, provided that national police commissioner Fannie Masemola was on leave at the time.
“When I look at that correspondence and its timing, I can say that it was contentious, given that you were aware that the national commissioner was on leave. You didn’t even brief the national commissioner on your intentions to disband the PKTT. It even had that ‘immediate effect’ on it, hence I’m saying it was contentious,” said Sokanyile.
“There was nothing wrong with the timing from where I’m sitting because I wanted a situation where, at the beginning of the year, we would have something concrete and clearly identified that it was something I wanted to get rid of immediately, amid all other issues.”
Mchunu further explained that when he saw the commissioner at a funeral on 28 December 2024, he had “no solid idea” how to engage with him on the disbandment.
“It was only after relaxing at home that everything shaped up in my mind,” he said.
On Friday, Mchunu played a recording between his chief of staff, Cedrick Nkabinde, and Mkhwanazi, in which the latter supposedly made threats. However, there was no part in the recording where Mkhwanazi threatened Mchunu.
EFF MP Julius Malema slammed the minister for playing a recording he had not listened to himself.
“The minister does not have the recording he told us about. He wanted us to listen to something he never listened to himself because it’s not there. We don’t have a recording; that recording doesn’t exist, “said Malema.
“Let’s agree that there is no such recording where General Mkhwanazi threatened the minister. We must put it on record that the minister does not have that recording, and therefore, that recording doesn’t exist.”
Mchunu explained that his chief of staff had informed him that Mkhwanazi was “very angry” and that he had made threatening comments in their previous conversations.
However, during the conversation that Mchunu had instructed Nkabinde to record, it appears Mkhwanazi had calmed down and did not repeat the alleged threats.
Other MPs demanded clarity from Mchunu regarding the recording and whether Mkhwanazi really made those threats.
Mchunu admitted to making a mistake by not providing the recording, but maintained that Mkhwanazi had threatened him.
“I made that mistake, and I apologise.”
Mchunu, Sibiya and Mkhwanazi’s conflicting testimonies have deepened the perception of a leadership crisis within the SAPS, where fractured institutional loyalties are playing out in the public terrain. Recently, Ramaphosa suspended the inspector general of intelligence Imtiaz Fazel, after a complaint to parliament’s joint standing committee on intelligence, adding to the instability across the policing and intelligence services.
Watch Live in the video below:
Video Courtesy of Parliament.