Ad hoc committee on police corruption sends Ramaphosa 120 written questions

Parliament’sad hoc committeeinvestigating corruption in the criminal justice system has sent President Cyril Ramaphosa questions regarding his knowledge and involvement in the controversial disbanding of a task team on political killings. Ramaphosa established the team in 2018 to investigate politically related murders but it was disbanded in December 2024 by now suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu. MPs in the committee, which was set up after KwaZulu-Natal police commissionerNhlanhla Mkhwanazi’sexplosive allegations last July of political motives in the disbandment, have sent Ramaphosa questions about his role.

These included four queries from legal counsel, 102 from the Economic Freedom Fighters, nine from the uMkhonto weSizwe party, 14 from the ANC and seven from the Democratic Alliance. The committee seeks to find out whether Ramaphosa gave instructions to disband theinter-ministerial committee(IMC) which oversaw the political killings task team. Mchunu has previously told the ad hoc committee that he did not consult Ramaphosa when issuing the disbandment letter.

He defended his instruction, saying he was implementing a police research study which recommended the disbandment and consolidation of violent crime investigations into the murder and robbery unit. In his testimony at the ad hoc committee Mkhwanazi said Ramaphosa established the inter-ministerial committee in 2018, comprising the ministers of police, state security agency, defence, as well as justice and correctional service. He accused Mchunu of making a unilateral decision to disband the task teamwithout consultation and approvalfrom the inter-ministerial committee.

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Members of parliament have asked Ramaphosa whether the absence of the committee relegated authority over the task team to Mchunu. “Does the President accept that the absence of appointment letters may have caused confusion?” another question reads. “What authority, if any, did individual IMC members have over the operational existence or consultation of the PKTT?”

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