Madlanga Commission | Evidence reveals contradictions in Sibiya’s testimony on PKTT mandate

The Madlanga Commission has presented documents showing that the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) mandate was extended in April of 2024.

The commission revealed that the expanded mandate – which took effect on the 1 April and included investigations into the killings of traditional leaders in KwaZulu-Natal, was recommended and financially approved by suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner, Shadrack Sibiya.

The dockets which were officially signed off by senior officials in the South African Police Service (SAPS) on 16 April, were reportedly audited a year later, after being transferred to the organisation’s head office in Pretoria.

Shortly after the audit, a letter surface reflecting an immediate disbandment of the task team.

However, Sibiya disagreed with the commission’s line of questioning, arguing that the team had been dealing with political killing cases since 2018 and therefore had sufficient time to investigate them.

Sibiya told the commission that National Police Commissioner, Fannie Masemola, had sent him an email outlining operational steps to be taken during the disbandment of the PKTT. He said Masemola instructed him to communicate the message to relevant SAPS members.

Previous testimony before the commission indicated that Sibiya signed off on the task team’s de-establishment in January 2025, a move the commission believes requires careful scrutiny.

“What did the National commissioner say he wants you to do?” Justice Sesi Baloyi questioned.

“To communicate the de-activation to the relevant team. And that’s how I understood it; Deactivation. In other words, I had to inform the team that we are now embarking on a different road trip,” Sibiya responded.

Sibiya also denied directing that the PKTT dockets be moved from KwaZulu Natal to Gauteng. His name had featured prominently in earlier testimony as the driving force behind the controversial transfer.

He told the commission he only became aware of the transfer of 121 dockets to Gauteng days after they had arrived at the SAPS head office in Pretoria.

Sibiya raised concerns about procedural irregularities in how the dockets were moved, suggesting the handover should have been conducted formally between senior officials in KwaZulu-Natal.

He further conceded that dockets sitting at head office for months without investigation amounts to interference with the administration of justice.

Although he acknowledged that 121 dockets remained at the Pretoria head office for three months without progress, Sibiya argued that the files had allegedly been inactive for years in the provinces where they originated.

“Chair, I will simply not agree that there was travesty of justice for the three or five months period compared to the five year period. I still believe that it was also not by our own making or my own making because let us accept the fact that someone refused to accept the dockets or rejected them. That part on its own was not a smart move either by the provincial commissioner to reject,” Sibiya said.

Written by: Odirile Rabalao