The Political Killings Task Team
of Inquiry
The summary
The Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) was established by SAPS in 2018 — following the September 2017 murder of ANC leader Sindiso Magaqa — to investigate politically motivated murders, primarily in KwaZulu-Natal. A multi-disciplinary structure involving SAPS, the NPA and crime intelligence, it reported through Provincial Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. By 2025 it had handled over 600 dockets — 125 under investigation, 114 before the courts, 217 finalised — with what police leadership called one of the best detection and conviction rates in the country. On 31 December 2024, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu issued a directive disbanding the unit, stating it was 'no longer required'. Mkhwanazi alleges more than 120 active dockets were removed and reassigned to Deputy National Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya without his approval, halting imminent arrests. The resulting uproar fed directly into the 6 July 2025 press conference, the Madlanga Commission and Parliament's Ad Hoc Committee. National Commissioner Fannie Masemola has since ordered dockets back to the unit, and as of late 2025 the PKTT remained in operation pending final parliamentary recommendations.
The mandate
The thread — full timeline
The Magaqa murder — the case that changed everything
Sindiso Magaqa, an ANC leader, is murdered in September 2017 — the killing that galvanises the creation of the PKTT and comes to symbolise KZN's political violence crisis.
PKTT established after a wave of political killings
Following a surge of politically-linked violence in KwaZulu-Natal — and the September 2017 murder of ANC leader Sindiso Magaqa — SAPS creates the Political Killings Task Team in 2018. The multi-disciplinary unit brings together SAPS, the NPA and crime intelligence under the oversight of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Political Killings.
The disbandment directive
Minister Senzo Mchunu issues a formal directive disbanding the PKTT, effective 31 December 2024, stating the unit is 'no longer required'. Mchunu later defends the decision before Parliament, saying the President approved it and that the PKTT was never a formal SAPS unit but a 'temporary group' created for a specific purpose that had been achieved.
"Its further existence is no longer required, nor is it adding any value to policing in South Africa."— Minister Senzo Mchunu, 31 December 2024
120 dockets moved — Mkhwanazi alleges sabotage
Mkhwanazi alleges that over 120 active dockets were removed from the PKTT and reassigned to Deputy National Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya without his approval, halting imminent arrests and compromising investigations — perhaps, he suggests, because those ordering the disbandment have interests in the political criminal underworld. Minister Mchunu defends the decision before Parliament.
Parliament opens the Ad Hoc Committee
Parliament establishes the Ad Hoc Committee on the Allegations by General Mkhwanazi to investigate the PKTT disbandment and related claims of corruption, political interference and obstruction within SAPS. Testimonies by police officials, including former National Commissioner Fannie Masemola, suggest the directive's timing and motivation were 'suspicious and questionable'.
Mkhwanazi: the team was closing in on Gauteng syndicates
Testifying at the Madlanga Commission, Mkhwanazi says the PKTT was disbanded at the moment it was closing in on Gauteng-based syndicates, and details that the team had been reduced in size and given a three-month budget for April to June 2025. Later in 2025, National Commissioner Masemola orders dockets back to the unit — the PKTT remains in operation pending final parliamentary recommendations.
Still operating — pending final parliamentary recommendations
As of late 2025 the PKTT remains in full operation after Masemola ordered dockets back to it. The unit's final fate awaits the recommendations of Parliament's Ad Hoc Committee and the Madlanga Commission.
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