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Police Minister Senzo Mchunu before Parliament’s Ad Hoc Commitee
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu says some members of the KwaZulu-Natal Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) had confided in him about the way in which the unit was directed.
Mchunu, who’s on his first day before Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee, says the members also complained to his two deputies about human resource matters within the PKTT as well as allegations of defeating the ends of justice.
He says such concerns had the potential to damage the Police Service’s reputation, adding that the concerns led to him writing a letter to disestablish the PKTT on the 31st of December last year.
Ad Hoc Committee evidence leader Norman Arendse pressed Mchunu on the final moments leading up to the disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team.
Arendse demanded clarity on whether any formal consultations or reviews were held before the unit was shut down.
In response, Mchunu admitted that since 2022, there had been no substantive discussions to extend the PKTT’s mandate despite ongoing political violence in provinces like KwaZulu-Natal.
Mchunu maintained that the task team was always intended to be temporary.
Video: Parliament Ad Hoc Committee | Police Minister Senzo Mchunu | Day 1
‘More police stations needed’
Minister of Police has also admitted that more police stations are needed across South Africa to curb the scourge of crime.
Mchunu informed the committee that most police stations are ill-equipped and in desperate need of technological devices, adding that officers aren’t paid enough.
Mchunu has been on special leave since July.
