Members of Parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating allegations of police corruption remain divided over whether Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s directive to disband the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) was connected to the protection of organised crime cartels.
The disagreement emerged during the committee’s continued deliberations on its draft report on Thursday night, as MPs made further amendments to the document.
While some political parties argued that the process following Mchunu’s directive amounted to a winding-down of the task team, others said the committee had not been able to establish whether criminal elements had infiltrated the police based on the evidence presented.
The Patriotic Alliance (PA) said there was no evidence before the committee showing that criminal elements had influenced Mchunu’s decision to disband the PKTT.
MPs Divided Over Mchunu’s PKTT Decision
PA representative Ashley Sauls argued that the actions that followed Mchunu’s directive should be viewed as part of a winding-down process.
He said the committee needed to consider whether there was sufficient evidence to suggest that the minister intended to protect drug cartels or other criminal networks.
“Therefore, we as the committee are able to say we don’t see any direct link between the directive and the protection of criminal elements.”
However, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Leigh-Ann Mathys disagreed with the PA’s position.
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Mathys said the submission appeared to clear Mchunu of wrongdoing without the committee having fully established whether criminal infiltration had taken place.
“We can’t even make a finding that there was criminal infiltration, even if there was evidence before us. So, for us to say there was no evidence for it, it defeats the whole purpose, and we are outside our mandate.”
The competing positions reflect a wider disagreement among committee members over what conclusions can reasonably be drawn from the evidence presented during the investigation.
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The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party took a different position, submitting that the committee should find that Mchunu misrepresented to Parliament the extent of his interactions with President Cyril Ramaphosa regarding the directive.
The submission adds another point of contention to the committee’s deliberations as MPs continue working on the wording and findings of the draft report.
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The committee has yet to finalise its report, with members continuing to debate the findings that should be included in the document.
The deliberations are focused on determining what conclusions can be supported by the evidence relating to Mchunu, the PKTT directive and allegations of criminal influence within the police.
