Courts

JOHANNESBURG - KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has told the Madlanga Commission that five of the 121 case dockets that were taken from the political killings task team (PKTT) were ready for arrests. However, the arrests were not effected.

Mkhwanazi continued with his testimony at the Madlanga Commission at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria yesterday, where he provided further details on the task team.

He highlighted that the instruction to disband the task team was never officially communicated to him, and as a result, police officers continued with their work, though there was confusion about the future of the team.

“The instruction (to disband the task team) was not officially given to me. It would have been sent to the national commissioner, and the national commissioner did not communicate anything to me. What I know is that the team continued working; it never stopped,” said Mkhwanazi.

“However, the number of members that were deployed in the team was reduced; the reason for the reduction might have been influenced by the budget, but the national commissioner is in a better position to explain what led to the reduction in terms of the number of personnel. There is a number of police officers who were thrown and went back to their stations, while others remained.”

During this confusion about the future of the task team, on March 26, 2025, 118 ‘under investigation’ dockets investigated by the PKTT were handed over to Lieutenant General Khosi Senthumule on the instruction of Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya.

On April 10, 2025, three additional dockets still under investigation by the team were handed over to the South African Police Service Head Office in Pretoria on the instruction of Sibiya, making it 121 dockets.

 “My involvement in this is when I first received a briefing in May that the dockets are already in Pretoria. It was not explained that they went in batches; it was said 121 dockets are already in Pretoria, and when I asked who directed that, they said General (Dumisani) Khumalo was the one who ordered that the dockets be moved.

“The people who facilitated that move are in a better position to explain. My involvement is limited to the briefing I got. I got involved when the dockets were returned to KZN, which started with a meeting held between me, the acting divisional commissioner of detective services, General Khumalo and my deputy. Upon agreement, the dockets were signed back to the task team in the same form as they were handed over.

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. (Pic: News24)