Masemola Tells Madlanga Commission Why Political Killings Task Team Failed

Pretoria, 22 September 2025 – National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola has given testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria, outlining why the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) was eventually disbanded.

Task Team Hampered by Resource Gaps

Masemola revealed that the PKTT faced serious structural and resource shortcomings from its inception. Among the key challenges were:

• No prosecutorial strategy to strengthen cases before court.
• Lack of an investigative framework to guide detectives.
• No prosecutor-led investigations, leaving the unit fragmented.

“These shortcomings resulted in no significant successes in addressing political killings, ultimately leading to the dissolution of the team,” Masemola testified. He added that a previous provincial task team tasked with investigating political killings had suffered similar failures. “It made no successes at all,” he said, noting that the PKTT was meant to provide a new strategy and way forward.

READ: Masemola Accuses Police Minister Mchunu of Overstepping in Task Team Disbandment

Minister’s Disbandment Letter

Masemola confirmed that on 31 December 2024, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu issued a letter instructing that the PKTT be disbanded. In response, Masemola sought to engage with the Minister. He testified that on 6 March 2025, a meeting was scheduled to discuss the disbandment plan and to present the task team’s record.

“The purpose was to discuss the disbandment plan,” Masemola said. “But we also presented a summary of the successes of what the team had done, even though the Minister had already received a detailed report on 20 January. The aim was to convince him to think otherwise about the team.”

Balancing Failures and Achievements

While conceding that the PKTT struggled to meet expectations, Masemola maintained that the unit did achieve some successes — particularly in reviving long-stalled cases of political violence.

These successes, he argued, demonstrated that the team still had value and should have been improved rather than disbanded outright.

READ: Fannie Masemola to Testify at Madlanga Commission as SAPS Corruption Claims Deepen

Commission Probes Political Interference

Masemola is the second witness to testify at the Madlanga Commission, which is tasked with investigating allegations of corruption, political interference, and organised crime infiltration within the criminal justice system. His testimony builds on earlier evidence from KwaZulu-Natal Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who also raised concerns about ministerial overreach in policing matters.

As the Commission continues, the debate over whether the PKTT’s disbandment was operationally justified or politically motivated remains central to its inquiry.