Khumalo says the attempt to disband the PKTT was due to the influence of 'a particular organised crime cartel'.
Police Divisional Commissioner of Crime Intelligence Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo has informed the Madlanga Commission that former police minister Bheki Cele never issued directives to the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT).
Khumalo, who has been the project leader of the PKTT since 2018, testified at the commission on Monday.
The Crime Intelligence boss is the one national police commissioner, Fannie Masemola, and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, said would be able to furnish the commission with the inner workings of the task team.
In his opening brief, Khumalo said he believed the target on the PKTT was misdirected. He further stated that his investigations into the workings of the SA Police Service (Saps) reveal an infiltration by those who seek to manipulate the police force to their advantage.
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“It is my view that the attempt to disband the PKTT was due to the influence of a particular organised crime cartel over the ministry of police and the Saps, who mistakenly thought that the PKTT was investigating the same cartel,” said Khumalo.
“The interventions in the Saps have never been so important as nowadays because of the level of threats that are from within the department or organisation itself.”
Khumalo on the PKTT
The Crime Intelligence boss echoed the testimonies of Major-General Margaretha van Rooyen, the head of governance, legislation, and policy at Saps’ legal services division, as well as Mkhwanazi and Masemola, who stated that the operational matters of the PKTT fall under the national commissioner’s jurisdiction.
“The PKTT was established and constituted administratively by the national police commissioner. It was not created through any legislation or regulation, and it is still one of the task teams that will be established by the national commissioner from time to time,” said Khumalo.
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“All the task teams are constituted by the national commissioner, who has to assign the resources to the task team, including financial resources.”
Khumalo further informed the commission that the PKTT was established in 2018, when Cele was the Minister of Police. During his tenure, Cele never issued any directives to the PKTT.
“According to my knowledge, having been there, there were no instructions from the police minister, Bheki Cele, either as a minister or member of the IMC, to the PKTT. They would receive a progress report from the PKTT on a continuous basis,” he said.
This is in contrast to Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, who, on 31 December 2024, issued a directive to disband the PKTT.
Mkhwanazi, Masemola, and Van Rooyen testified that the directive was an encroachment on the national police commissioner’s mandate.
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