Deputy police minister Cassel Mathale has confirmed that he was not consulted regarding police minister Senzo Mchunu’s directive to disband the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), describing the December 31 2024 instruction as procedurally flawed and institutionally disruptive.
In his testimony before parliament’s ad hoc committee on Tuesday, Mathale said the directive lacked adequate consultation and created operational uncertainty within the SAPS.
Mathale stated that he had not received delegated powers from Mchunu since July 2024, despite having previously held formal assignments under former police minister Bheki Cele. He confirmed that his prior responsibilities included oversight of police administration, the Civilian Secretariat, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA), and strategic coordination with the DPCI judge. In the absence of new delegations, Mathale said his current role was limited to ad hoc engagements and briefings, a situation he described as “not ideal” and constitutionally ambiguous.
His statement emphasised the constitutional architecture governing the police, citing sections 205 to 207 of the Constitution and the South African Police Service Act 68 of 1995. He reiterated that while the minister determined national policing policy under section 206, operational command resided with the national commissioner under section 207. He warned against conflating executive oversight with operational interference, stating that “the interface between executive authority and operational autonomy within the police is constitutionally significant and institutionally delicate”.
Regarding the PKTT, Mathale acknowledged its effectiveness in addressing politically motivated killings, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, but argued that its function could be absorbed into permanent police structures. He said the directive’s wording — especially the term “immediate” — was impractical and lacked operational planning.
“A decision of this magnitude requires reasonable or adequate levels of engagement,” he said, adding that the directive was issued without interdepartmental consultation or parliamentary notification," he said.
Mathale confirmed that Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo, who headed both crime intelligence and the PKTT, was reassigned to focus exclusively on rebuilding crime intelligence. He said the restructuring of the police, including the revival of a murder and robbery unit, was under way prior to the directive and should have informed a phased approach to disbandment. He added that the PKTT was never illegal and had not incurred irregular expenditure to his knowledge.
Responding to allegations raised by KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi in his July 6 2025 media briefing, Mathale said the claims warranted serious investigation but denied the existence of factionalism within the police. He acknowledged the presence of rogue elements and legacy issues stemming from incomplete post-1994 integration, but maintained that differences in approach did not amount to factional conflict.
“There are elements who defended the apartheid system that did not die. These elements are still operational and sabotage the democratic project,” he said.
Mathale dismissed claims of political interference in procurement and denied knowing Brown Mogotsi or Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala. He rejected the suggestion that Mchunu’s directive was intended to protect drug cartels, stating: “No.”
He also refuted allegations that he had received a WhatsApp message from deputy national commissioner Shadrack Sibiya regarding spyware procurement, calling the content “misinformation”.
The deputy minister said the removal of 121 PKTT dockets to Pretoria was not communicated to him in advance and that he raised the matter with national police commissioner Fannie Masemola, who assured him that investigations would not be compromised. He agreed that enrolling dockets prematurely contributed to court backlogs and said the issue required co-ordinated reform.
While Mathale stopped short of declaring the directive unconstitutional, he said its implementation was flawed and that the minister “could have handled the issue of the disbandment differently”.
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