A Dangerous Precedent”: Retired Interpol Expert Condemns Mchunu’s Task Team Disbandment

“A Dangerous Precedent”: Retired Interpol Expert Condemns Mchunu’s Task Team Disbandment

A seasoned voice in international policing has entered the fray of South Africa’s simmering law enforcement crisis, delivering a stern rebuke to Police Minister Senzo Mchunu. Andy Mashaile, a retired Interpol ambassador, has publicly slammed the Minister’s decision to unilaterally disband the specialised Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), calling the move inappropriate and a breach of established protocol.

Mashaile’s criticism, voiced in a televised interview, adds significant weight to the concerns already raised by National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola and exposes a deep rift at the very top of the country’s crime-fighting structures.

A Matter of Protocol, Not Just Policy

For Mashaile, the core issue is not necessarily the PKTT’s fate, but how the decision was made. He argued that a minister should guide, not command, operational matters.

“The Minister ought to have consulted first,” Mashaile stated, outlining the proper channel. “Sometimes the Minister will see things from a different angle… You can then call your National Commissioner and say, ‘This is what I see,’ and what do you think about certain actions, instead of ordering, ‘do this, do that.'”

He stressed that police operations fall squarely under the jurisdiction of the National Commissioner. Disbanding an established team, especially one handling sensitive political murders, should never be a unilateral act. The Minister’s role, he implied, is strategic, while the Commissioner’s is operational.

Echoes from the Madlanga Commission

Mashaile’s comments directly support Commissioner Masemola’s dramatic testimony earlier this week at the Madlanga Commission. Masemola accused Minister Mchunu of a “total encroachment” on his authority, revealing that he received a directive in December 2024 ordering the immediate disbandment of the PKTT.

Masemola’s defence was clear: the Minister sets national priorities, but the “how” including the deployment of personnel and resources is the Commissioner’s mandate. To issue a direct order to “disband now” was, in his view, “direct interference.”

Why This Dispute Matters to Every South African

This is more than a simple bureaucratic squabble. The public clash between the country’s top cop and its political head of police strikes at the heart of the SAPS’s integrity and operational independence.

The PKTT is a critical unit investigating politically motivated murders, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, where assassinations have plagued local politics. Its sudden disbandment without clear consultation raises alarming questions about the future of these investigations and whether political considerations are overriding operational needs.

The warning from a respected figure like Andy Mashaile underscores the gravity of the situation. When the lines between political oversight and operational command are blurred, the effectiveness and credibility of the entire police service are put at risk. For a public already grappling with high levels of violent crime, this internal power struggle offers little confidence that those targeting politicians will be brought to justice.

{Source: IOL}

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