Madlanga Commission | No police ministry project runs indefinitely: Mchunu

Suspended Police Minister, Senzo Mchunu, has told the Madlanga Commission that, beyond 2022, the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) was no longer properly regulated.

Mchunu, who is facing allegations of improperly dismantling the PKTT, said this is the first time in his entire political career that he has been accused of corruption.

He explained that the PKTT’s initial mandate  was intended to run for six months from July 2018 — not six years as it ultimately did. Mchunu added that no project within the police ministry runs indefinitely.

Before a task team’s term can be renewed, an assessment is normally conducted. However, Mchunu said these assessments for the PKTT stopped in 2022. He was advised that, due to the lack of assessments, continued expenditure over the following two years became irregular.

He also told the commission that National Commissioner, Fannie Masemola, was aware from the start that the PKTT was a time-bound project, not a permanent unit, and that plans to eventually disband it were known since inception.

– Alleged EMPD infiltration –

Former Ekurhuleni municipal manager, Dr. Imogen Mashazi, returned to the Madlanga Commission, denying involvement in Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi’s appointment as EMPD deputy chief of police, calling the allegations baseless.

Earlier, suspended EMPD chief Isaac Mapiyeye claimed Mkhwanazi’s appointment was irregular and that he had not undergone required fitness screening. The commission also received the appointment letter, which bears Mashazi’s signature.

However, Mashazi maintained that the appointment was authorised by Thokozani Maseko, then acting city manager and head of Water and Sanitation, as she was on leave at the time.

“I am saying it’s a process of the council. When you look at it we indicate that we are acting. I was not around. He indicated through writing that he was acting and he signed. I take your point that he is supposed to write his full name to show that he was acting but I can tell you that on that day he was acting and I was on leave,” Dr. Mashazi said.

Mashazi said she does not understand why she was implicated, explaining that Ekurhuleni uses standardised forms that automatically carry her credentials, even when she is absent.

She alleged that her 2020 attempts to report Mapiyeye for allegedly defeating the ends of justice and driving under the influence were suppressed. She presented footage showing protesters demonstrating against Mapiyeye in 2020, accusing him of killing a child while allegedly intoxicated.

Mashazi said she obtained the footage only yesterday and claimed that political protection has shielded Mapiyeye, with her attempts to initiate disciplinary action repeatedly failing.

She alleged that Mapiyeye is benefiting from political protection, adding that many of her attempts to initiate disciplinary action against him have been unsuccessful.

Written by: Odirile Rabalao