Copies of political killings dockets secured for Madlanga Commission as originals remain with KZN task team

The South African Police Service  (SAPS) says copies have been made of the 121 dockets linked to political killings in KwaZulu-Natal to ensure the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry can access them, while the originals are back with the disbanded political killings task team to continue investigations.

In an interview on 702 , Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said that the national commissioner decided to return the files to KZN “to ensure that we do not delay justice for the families that are waiting for answers and for the victims that have died.”

In July, SAPS KZN Provincial Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi accused the now-suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu of interfering in police operations, including ordering the disbandment of the high-profile Political Killings Task Team and the removal of the dockets. 

He also alleged that Mchunu protected individuals implicated in politically motivated crimes - claims Mchunu has denied as “baseless.”

Mathe confirmed the dockets,  which include 107 murder cases, four attempted murders, two conspiracies to commit murder, and two cases of pointing a firearm, had been sitting at the police head office in Pretoria since March after the task team was disbanded.

“Of the 121 dockets, 107 are murder. Murder cases of traditional leaders, of party members, of councillors. So it’s quite serious cases,” Mathe said.

The commissioner’s move had drawn criticism from President Cyril Ramaphosa and acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia, who argued the dockets form part of the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry and should remain with it.

Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said earlier this week that the commission was empowered to prioritise urgent cases and refer them back to police immediately, without delaying justice.

But Mathe said the commissioner, after legal advice, concluded that leaving the cases idle would expose SAPS to legal action.

“Legally we could be sued. Legally, we are defeating the ends of justice. If those families really take us to court, they would have a leg to stand on,” she said. 

To resolve the standoff, SAPS has made a copy of each docket for the commission, while the originals are being worked on again by investigators in KZN.

“Let us make a copy of each docket. But let the dockets go back to KZN, to the political killings task team, so that they continue with the work so that we do not delay the administration of justice,” Mathe said.

“Should the commission need these dockets, we’ve got copies. Or in any format that they need them, whether they require the originals, the originals will then be taken back and sent back to Pretoria.”

Mathe also defended the task team’s track record, noting that since 2018, it had investigated 333 dockets and secured over 130 convictions.

“The successes and the arrests include hitmen, hit orderers, the spotters. The work is there, the successes are there,” she said, pointing to convictions in the killings of political figures such as Sindiso Magaqa and others.

Although Cachalia previously complained about not receiving a detailed report on the task team, Mathe said the acting minister and the national commissioner had since met and agreed to work together.

“What is important is that they have met. They found each other. We have released a joint statement and we are going forward,” she said.

hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za

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