By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
South African Police Services (SAPS) National Crime Intelligence boss Dumisani Khumalo testified before the Parliament Adhoc committee on Thursday.
The ad hoc committee resumed its hearings with former acting SAPS commissioner Khomotso Phahlane after a lengthy recess.
Phahlane served from October 2015 until his suspension in June 2017.
While his role in the highest levels of the police ended nine years ago, he still remains a central figure in high-profile investigations that involve police corruption as well as political interference.
Part of an affidavit that Phahlane submitted to the committee added to his testimony about political interference.
The committee is probing the disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), whose disbandment prompted the Ad Hoc committee investigation.
Khumalo said his tenure since January 2023 was marked by resistance to reforms aimed at restoring legality and accountability within Crime Intelligence, telling MPs that misinformation, often amplified through social and print media, was used to undermine each major reform decision he took.
“Crime Intelligence was operating without proper legal controls, serving internal interests rather than SAPS priorities, and the moment we began correcting that, a coordinated misinformation campaign was unleashed to discredit every reform decision we took,” he said.
He described widespread misuse of state vehicles, irregular employment of family and friends, and the appointment of about 250 “agents” who were later found to be ghost employees.
Turning to the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), Khumalo rejected the narrative that it was a flawed or illegitimate structure.
He confirmed the PKTT was established in 2018 during a surge of political killings in KwaZulu-Natal, following the creation of an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) chaired by then Police Minister Bheki Cele.
He said the same IMC processes used to establish the PKTT should have been followed, in reverse, if disbandment was ever contemplated.
Khumalo told MPs the last IMC briefing on the PKTT took place in September 2023, with resolutions that the task team should continue, with the final briefing to the President occurring in March 2024.
Since then, he said, the IMC had not reconvened, despite the PKTT continuing to operate and report to national and provincial steering committees.
At the time of its disbandment, the PKTT was handling 612 dockets, including 333 political killings in KwaZulu-Natal, 120 firearm-related cases, 51 traditional leader killings, and 18 cases linked to Fort Hare University.
Of these, 297 cases had been finalised, 141 were before courts, and 121 remained under investigation.
He also detailed concerning issues related to two connected, but separate, high-level police operations focused on crime suspects Katiso “KT” Molefe and Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
Both Molefe and Matlala, who respectively face criminal accusations relating to murder and attempted murder, are accused of being Big Five cartel members (they have not been charged over this).
On 6 December 2024, as part of sensitive police investigations, Molefe was to be arrested and Matlala was set to be questioned (he was arrested months later).
He said that there had been interference in the Molefe arrest operation, and alleged that some of this emanated from Major General Richard Shibiri, head of the police’s National Organised Crime Unit.
This unit falls under the national commissioner of crime detection, Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya, who was previously suspended as a result of this overall scandal.
Khumalo said in testimony that as far as he was aware, an investigation into allegations against Shibiri was well under way.
He previously testified about cartel activity before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, a hearing running parallel to the ad hoc committee.
But his testimony in Parliament on Thursday was much more detailed.
As for the ad hoc committee proceedings on Thursday, it was late before members of the committee began questioning Khumalo on his testimony and related issues.
The ad hoc committee plans to wrap up its witness testimony by 6 February 2025 and compile a report on its hearings by 20 February, the deadline by which it needs to finalise its work.