KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has painted a bleak picture of “delayed justice”, taking issue with a decision by now suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu to disband an elite task team probing high-profile murders and the withdrawal of 121 dockets.
The dockets were pulled from the team in May and were given back to the team on August 28. Within a week after the dockets were transferred to KwaZulu-Natal, the task team made arrests of murder accused in key cases.
That was the testimony of Mkhwanazi as the first witness before the commission of inquiry into criminality, political interference and corruption within SA’s criminal justice system on Wednesday.
If the commission upholds Mkhwanazi’s account, it would show how a single ministerial directive can stall high-profile murder probes.
Commission chair Mbuyiseli Madlanga said Mkhwanazi’s allegations, if proved to be true, spelt doom for the operation of the rule of law in SA.
“If the allegations are proved to be true, that spells doom for SA’s criminal justice system. A healthy justice system is key to the rule of law and, in turn, to a functioning constitutional democracy,” Madlanga said.
Mkhwanazi stuck to his guns that Mchunu delayed justice when he disbanded the task team on December 31 2024, the same day that police commissioner Fannie Masemola went on leave.
Mchunu was influenced by other people to disband the task team, he testified.
He said recent arrests showed the minister’s decision delayed justice for the families who suffered from the murders of their loved ones, suggesting that the closure was less a routine administrative move and more a decisive interruption of active investigations.
He told the commission that when the dockets were taken to SA Police Service head office, some cases were complete and officers had to make arrests.
His testimony before the commission puts pressure on Mchunu to substantiate his reasons to disband the team and whether they were influenced by criminal syndicates. Mchunu, in his directive, said he disbanded the team because it did not add value to the police.
Mkhwanazi said the disbandment was made in the weeks after the team, assisting Gauteng officers, searched the house of state tender tycoon and attempted murder accused Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala. The disbandment happened the day after the team received a ballistic report on guns linked to high-profile murders, he said.
The cases were that of engineer Armand Swart; Oupa Sefoka, known as DJ Sumbody; Hector Buthelezi, known as DJ Vintos; and the attempted murder of TV actress Tebogo Thobejane.
The report was compiled after the configured teams on December 6 2024 arrested businessman Katiso “KT” Molefe for the murders of the musicians. On the same day, the team conducted a search and seizure at Matlala’s house.
Matlala had a R360m police tender at the time. He was arrested in May for the attempted murder of Thobejane.
Mkhwanazi told the commission he had a police report that analysed communication between the accused and associates of the minister proving the arrests prompted the minister’s decision.
He said the minister made the decision without being briefed on the performance of the task team.
Mkhwanazi said the team came to Gauteng to assist investigators in the Swart case — believed to be linked to a Transnet tender worth millions — after two investigators working on the case received death threats, and suspected sabotage within the police.
The investigators, probing former cop Michael Pule Tau and two other suspects for Swart’s murder, were allegedly offered bribes by officials at the police head office in Pretoria, Mkhwanazi said.
He read the letter of a prosecutor in the case, who flagged the danger faced by the team, which was trimmed from five members to two.
The letter reads: “The investigation has proven all three accused are involved in a serious crime syndicate, of which almost a million rand was offered for the assassination in this regard.
“The investigation has revealed that Tau is one of the main organisers of the syndicate. His release on bail has intensified the danger to the safety of the investigation team.”
Mkhwanazi said the investigators suggested police officials sabotaged their probe.
Deliberate omission
“There was deliberate omission of crucial information, which investigators suspected came from forensic services analysing firearms that were found,” he said.
“Not only that, these investigators were invited to some meetings by senior officials at the head office of the detective services. At times, there were monies and bribes offered to them, and [they were told] not to oppose bail in some cases involving Tau.”
Mkhwanazi said he went public with the allegations because he wanted to sound the alarm on the trouble police officers experienced, which could lead to “total collapse” of the justice system.
Political analyst Lukhona Mnguni said Mkhwanazi’s testimony indicated that he was representing a collective within the police.
“[There is] not much new information, but I do think that him saying he was speaking on behalf of a collective reflecting common concerns needs a lot of unpacking. Who is this collective? Only people in KwaZulu-Natal? Across the country? Where were meetings held? Who initiated them?”
With Thando Maeko
Watch the commission here:
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