KZN’s police commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, held an extraordinary press briefing in Durban today, flanked by district commissioners and heavily armed members of the SAPS Special Task Force.

The Witness reports that in a blistering address, he accused Police Minister Senzo Mchunu of having contact with criminal syndicates that wanted to sabotage the Political Killings Task Team.

In an unprecedented public confrontation, Mkhwanazi alleged that Mchunu had instructed senior SAPS officials to disband the task team in March and withdraw 121 active case dockets, many involving politically motivated assassinations in the province, without authorisation from either the national commissioner or the provincial leadership.

“These dockets have been sitting idle at head office ever since,” said Mkhwanazi.

The commissioner presented a timeline of what he called an ‘orchestrated demise’ of the task team, backed by alleged internal SAPS communications, WhatsApp messages and forensic cellphone analysis.

At the centre of the storm are explosive allegations that Mchunu’s alleged associate, Brown Mogotsi, was in direct contact with suspects involved in organised crime and murder cases, including Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala, a businessman who received a police contract worth R360m in 2024.

According to the evidence presented, Mogotsi allegedly assured Matlala via WhatsApp that the unit investigating him had been ‘dissolved’ and that SAPS deputy national commissioner for crime detection, Lieutenant General Sibiya, was now in control of the case files.

The data presented to the media included alleged communication and financial links between Matlala, Mogotsi and the minister, including apparent payments for political events and a gala dinner.

“The disbandment of the task team was not a mistake. It was a deliberate attempt to shield an organised criminal syndicate with deep roots in our law enforcement, political and judicial systems.”

Since its establishment in July 2018, the Political Killings Task Team has investigated 612 dockets and secured over 100 convictions, including 29 life sentences. It was also credited with breakthroughs in syndicate-linked murders in Gauteng and at the University of Fort Hare.

Mkhwanazi said the dismantling began after the team’s ballistic expert linked recovered weapons to multiple high-profile killings in Gauteng, including cases involving prominent South African artists.

Just days after that revelation, Mchunu allegedly issued the order to disband the unit and freeze intelligence appointments.

Despite attempts to sideline the task team, Mkhwanazi confirmed that it remains operational and is pursuing a criminal investigation into what he described as ‘systemic infiltration of the criminal justice system’.

Reaction from the Police Ministry, SAPS national leadership and implicated parties is expected to follow.

The Witness will publish more information as it becomes available.

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