AN OPINION ON MINISTER MCHUNU’s RATIONALE FOR DISBANDING THE POLITICAL KILLINGS TASK TEAM

THE CONSTITUTIONAL POWERS OF THE MINISTER OF POLICE

During his evidence at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry today, Thursday

4 December 2025, Minister Senzo Mchunu cited the parts of the Constitution

which give the Minister of Police the power to determine National Policing

Policy, after consultation with the Provincial Executive Committees.

This is a critically important power in our democracy, given the fact that the

South African Police Service is the primary organ of state responsible for the

safety and security of the South African population.

It therefore follows that the member of Cabinet responsible for policing, the

Minister of Police, must be a person with the intelligence and integrity

properly to discharge the function of determining National Policing Policy.

STATISTICAL DATA RELATING TO THE CRIME OF MURDER IN THE COUNTRY

During his presentation at the Commission, Minister Mchunu presented

statistics showing the incidence of the crime of murder in our country over

a number of years.

In this context, the Minister also presented the figures of the politically

motivated murders which had been dealt with by the Political Killings

Task Team (PKTT).

What stood out in this context was the hard fact that both nationally and

in KZN, where the PKTT has been working, the politically motivated murders

are a tiny fraction of the overall national and provincial murder figures.

Minister Mchunu used this fact, including the budget allocated to the PKTT, to

argue that the PKTT must be closed down as he saw no logic in spending large

sums of money to fight politically motivated murders as opposed to other much

larger murders, such as those attributable to organised crime and taxi related

violence.

On the face of it, this seemed to be logical and correct reasoning.

The reality and correct posture, however, is quite the opposite.

It is fundamentally wrong to compare the impact on society of various origins

of murder merely by reference to statistics.

Any assessment which says that the impact on society of one murder due to

organised crime is as bad as one politically motivated murder, as Minister

Mchunu seems to be arguing, would be radically wrong.

THE HYPOTHETICAL CASE

Let us advance one hypothetical case.

We could have the situation where twenty well-chosen and publicised

instances of targeting and murdering candidate councillors in a Province

could have the intended effect of discouraging the best candidates from

presenting themselves for election out of fear of being killed.

We could then have the situation where people stand for election as

councillors because they need an income, with no commitment to serve

the people.

Once elected, these would also be ready to enter into corrupt

relations with other people, among others reasons, to protect their lives.

In this hypothetical case, the murder of the relatively small number of

twenty people would have a very negative and systemic impact of the

system of municipal governance throughout a Province.

This example should make very clear the special standing of such units as

the PKTT which protect society from the kind of governance rot which

could be imposed by criminal elements which would be interested that

only people driven by the desire for personal gain should serve in

government.

Nobody should ever rush to disband such a unit as the PKTT!

The fact that a Cabinet Minister responsible for policing, and therefore

also National Policing Policy, actually took a decision and directed the

National Commissioner of Police to dissolve the PKTT immediately,

raises serious questions about the fitness of the Minister concerned to

serve as the political leader of the Police Service.

Minister Mchunu also argued that specialised units such as the PKTT

should be integrated within large permanent Police Units such as the

Murder and Robbery Division.

Today, the Minister argued that in fact this Murder and Robbery

Division was already in existence.

It is therefore very strange that the Minister did not direct that the

National Commissioner should take steps to ensure that the PKTT is

integrated within the Murder and Robbery Division, which Division

might have decided that the work of the now integrated Unit should

not be disrupted.

Rather, despite the availability of this option, which the Minister himself

preferred, he decided that the PKTT must cease to exist, with immediate

effect!

Why?

Hopefully, the distinguished Madlanga Commission of Inquiry will help to

answer this important question.

END.