Police inquiry: De Haas alleges wasteful expenditure and deep-rooted failures in PKTT
Professor Mary de Haas criticises the effectiveness of the Political Killings Task Team before parliament Ad Hoc Committee
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Violence Monitor Professor Mary de Haas laid bare a series of damning concerns about the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) during testimony before Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee on Tuesday, arguing that it was not effective.
She explained to the committee why she supported the PKTT, a unit established to investigate political killings, immediate disbandment, a call that was ultimately heeded by suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, who officially dissolved the PKTT at the end of 2024.
The committee is investigating explosive claims by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who said a criminal syndicate known as the “big five” had infiltrated the police.
Mkhwanazi also alleged that de Haas had been “very vocal” about dissolving the province’s PKTT.
During her testimony, de Haas formally requested that Mchunu disband the PKTT in late 2024, describing the unit as “irregularly formed” and as a “misuse of taxpayer resources.”
She warned that its continued existence diverted crucial attention and funding away from more capable provincial investigative teams.
“I have never in my life heard of a task team running around with members of the National Intervention Unit,” de Haas told the committee, highlighting the disproportionate deployment of costly resources.
“At the same time, ongoing land invasions and mafia-style crimes remain unaddressed.”
She also raised alarms about covert political interference within the team, noting that only four people operationally ran the team including that none of them were detectives, arguing it seriously undermined proper investigative procedures.
De Haas detailed her frustrated efforts to engage Minister Mchunu, explaining that despite numerous phone calls, messages, and letters outlining abuses and inefficiency, she received no substantive response.
“I never thought the minister would act... I was writing to Parliament about it, even writing to the president about suspicions around the task team,” she explained.
In addition, de Haas accused the task team’s leadership of lacking the necessary qualifications, specifically naming Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo as unfit to lead such a complex unit.
She further alleged that former Police Minister Bheki Cele was involved in the team’s operational matters and that he regularly received police reports on its activities.
Khumalo, however, testified before the Madlanga Commission, which is investigating similar allegations of police infiltration, stating that Cele never interfered in the PKTT’s investigations.
“There were no instructions that would come from the minister as chair of the inter-ministerial committee,” Khumalo said.
He added that “They would receive progress reports from the PKTT continuously.”
De Haas’s testimony comes on the heels of last week’s dramatic adjournment, when MPs dismissed Cedrick Nkabinde, Mchunu’s Chief of Staff, over inconsistent statements and accusations of misleading Parliament.
The committee has since requested Nkabinde to correct his testimony and return at a later date.
As the inquiry continues to unravel allegations of criminal infiltration and political interference in the police service, de Haas’s revelations underscore ongoing calls for reform and accountability within South Africa’s law enforcement agencies.
thabo.makwakwa@inl.co.za
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