By: Buhle Mbhele
Political analyst Bheki Mngomezulu, speaking to Buhle Mbhele on Gagas FM News, expressed his view that the way President Cyril Ramaphosa is treating the issue of the disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) and suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s involvement shows that he is indeed protecting him.
Mngomezulu touches on the history the two have in politics.
“From what we have heard so far, it is a foregone conclusion that there was political influence until we are informed otherwise when we hear the side likaMchunu and hear his reasoning, unfortunately we are not likely to hear the side likaPresident ngoba under normal circumstances, ukuze isuke le thinking esinayo yokuthi there was political interference, noPresident bekungakuhle afike naye azo present his side of the story and explain why he handled Masemola in the manner he did.” said Mngomezulu.
His comments follow National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola’s testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry sitting at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria.
He said that after he found out about the plans to disband the PKTT, he received a letter from the minister’s office to submit a report by 20 January 2025 detailing the work done by the task team, as plans to close it were in progress.
Masemola mentioned that he tried to engage the minister on a ‘phased out’ approach instead of an abrupt route to dissolve it. He says when he then reached out to President Ramaphosa in February 2025 and expressed his concern about the abrupt way Mchunu is dissolving the team, the President reverted to him, saying he engaged Mchunu but never detailed what they discussed, adding that he was never told about the outcome of this meeting either.
Furthermore, when KZN Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, during a press briefing in Durban, uncovered the skeletons in the justice system and implicated Mchunu, Ramaphosa decided to put Mchunu on special leave and heeded the call to open an inquiry from several political parties, National Assembly members and the civil society. While some wanted Mchunu to also be fired instead of being suspended with perks, Ramaphosa decided otherwise.
Mngomezulu speaking on the relationship between Ramaphosa and Mchunu from the ANC to Parliament says,
“Given the history of the relationship between uMchunu and uPresident, definitely the answer to whether he is protecting uMchunu is yes.”
He further expressed his stance on the manner in which Ramaphosa treated Mchunu when the news broke.
“If it was me, for example, I would have been summarily dismissed, and even the President would not be found guilty because he would’ve not violated any part of the constitution because the President has the right to hire and fire many times,” said Mngomezulu.
Masemola also told the Commission during day 1 of his hearings that the PKTT was not gazetted and the selection of who forms part of the team was sensitive as interest in it increased from politicians and associates. He adds that the PKTT started with an intention to operate for 6 months, which was extended to 12 months, and then it was made permanent due to delays in convictions and trials.
Mngomezulu says because this is an inquiry, prosecutorial processes will not be applied, especially now that Masemola has expressed that Mchunu’s decision and/or instruction to disband the PKTT was unlawful.
