Pretoria – National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola has testified at the Madlanga commission that Police Minister Senzo Mchunu became “visibly angry” when the political killings task team (PKTT) took on a new case despite his instructions to wind down its work.
Mchunu had directed the disbandment of the “highly successful” PKTT in a December 2025 letter, insisting its term end before 2025. Masemola said he and senior officers tried to plan a phased withdrawal without disrupting investigations.
The minister reportedly lost his temper in March after the PKTT linked two suspects — originally arrested for gun possession — to the murder of ANC councillor Phendukani Mabhida in Mandeni. Instead of praising the breakthrough, Mchunu allegedly rebuked the team for taking on more work.
“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.
National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola tells the Madlanga Commission that Police Minister Senzo Mchunu was furious over the KwaZulu-Natal Political Killings Task Team’s (PKTT) success, particularly its breakthrough in the February 2025 murder of ANC… pic.twitter.com/hJm6NSaBxD
— MDN NEWS (@MDNnewss) September 23, 2025
Masemola said he was baffled by Mchunu’s reaction, noting the president himself had previously praised the PKTT and asked for its assistance in high-profile cases.
He added that President Cyril Ramaphosa appeared surprised when told of Mchunu’s disbandment plans, casting doubt on the minister’s claim that the president supported the move.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
