'It was the first time in my career to see a minister angry that police have done a good job.'
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu became ‘visibly angry’, according to Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola, after the political killings task team (PKTT) took on an additional case despite his instructions to wind down their work.
Masemola returned to the Madlanga commission on Tuesday, where he detailed Mchunu’s alleged unjustified disbandment of the “highly successful” task team.
He said following Mchunu’s letter, dated 31 December 2025, in which he directed the disbandment of the task team, meetings ensued in which Masemola and Crime Intelligence’s Dumisani Khumalo, among others, proposed plans on how this could be achieved without disrupting their work.
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During those meetings, Mchunu allegedly insisted that the term of the task team should end before 2025 and that the team should start winding down its work in preparation for its eventual disbandment.
This is despite Masemola’s insistence that the task team exists as long as the cases exist.
Mchunu ‘angry’
One of these meetings in March was allegedly abruptly ended after Mchunu expressed his anger over the additional case the team had taken on, contrary to his directive.
“What made him angry was that in the proposed plan somewhere, we said the PKTT is not going to take further cases, and when you look at the figures, you could see that there is an increase in the work of the PKTT, because they did take over a case of Mandeni,” said Masemola.
Zululand District Commissioner Major General Jabulani Khumalo alerted the PKTT after two suspects were arrested for unlawful possession of firearms.
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Their arrest in February followed the fatal shooting of ANC councillor Phendukani Mabhida. Khumalo suspected the two men may have been linked to the shooting and alerted the PKTT to look into it.
“After they’d done that, they were able to link, both ballistically, the firearm, as well as the suspects, to the murder of this councillor,” said Masemola.
‘Quite strange’
Instead of praising the police for a job well done, Masemola said Mchunu expressed anger instead.
“The minister could pick it up [the additional case], and he got angry that instead of the work going down, the work was going up, and it was explained that it’s because of this very same case,” said Masemola.
“The minister was angry about that. It was quite strange. It was the first time in my career to see a minister angry that police have done a good job, because here, police have arrested somebody who is linked to the killing of a councillor, and he was angry that they took over this target; they didn’t make the arrest.
“Yes, we agree with him, they did not make the initial arrest of the people for possession of a firearm, that was done by the local POP, but the PKTT was able to do further investigation, and they linked the suspect to the murder of this councillor. So, that made him angry, and it made the meeting end abruptly.
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“What surprised me was exactly that, how would you be angry when police did what they are supposed to do?”
Defiance?
Masemola said he considered that the minister may have been angry because he had defied the directive not to take on more cases.
However, the PKTT was not wrong to take on the case, as Masemola had not communicated the directive to disband the team.
“I did think it in that line. But the fact of the matter is, well, whether I disband the team or don’t disband the team, here you have police that have linked a suspect with the killing of a councillor. Shouldn’t you, despite saying ‘no, this team must be disbanded’, appreciate that?
“Now you are angry that they still exist; they have even made further success. I mean, why do you have police? Are you not having them to fight crime?”
Masemola ‘taken aback’
The national police commissioner said, in the same meeting, Mchunu told the team he did not understand their fight to keep the PKTT.
“Then he said that the president [Cyril Ramaphosa] is in agreement that the PKTT be disbanded. I was quite taken aback by his revelation, since it was the president who, knowing about the effectiveness of the PKTT, had requested the PKTT to deploy to assist with the Fort Hare cases.
“Moreover, the president in our last briefing on the PKTT was satisfied with the performance. Of course, it’s him [Mchunu] saying it [that the president was in agreement], so I wouldn’t know whether what he’s saying is true or not.”
Masemola said he could not confirm Mchunu’s claims, as the president seemed surprised himself when the commissioner briefed him in February about the police minister’s decision to disband the team.
“He [Ramaphosa] was quite taken aback when I briefed him that this team is being disbanded, and with no reasons given, and he was quite taken aback, and he said he will speak to the minister. The minister stated at that meeting of 27 March 2025 that he took a political decision to establish the PKTT; therefore, it will take a political decision to disband it.”
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