Parliament committee demands tougher safeguards after PKTT disbandment directive

Parliamentary committee members are calling for stronger safeguards in police decision-making and procurement after a directive to disband the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT). The move, raised during deliberations on a draft report by the Ad Hoc Committee on police corruption, follows a Police Minister instruction to disband the PKTT on 31 December 2024.

What committee members want

Political parties represented on the committee urged reforms to prevent executive decisions from disrupting policing structures. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) proposed legal and policy safeguards to stop similar decisions in future. Committee members said the directive highlighted concerns about the processes that govern choices affecting policing operations.

Calls for investigation into prosecution system

The committee widened its focus from police corruption to alleged weaknesses across the criminal justice system, calling for an investigation into claims that organised criminal interests had infiltrated the prosecution service. Members backed a recommendation that the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) report to Parliament’s Justice Portfolio Committee on how the allegations will be investigated.

ANC submission read to the committee

Committee chairperson Soviet Lekganyane read the African National Congress (ANC)’s submission on the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) during Thursday night’s deliberations.

“The ANC submitted that the NDPP should provide a confidential report to the Portfolio Committee on Justice concerning allegations that organised criminal interests may have compromised prosecutions,”

The ANC said the report should explain the process followed to investigate the allegations and the measures taken to protect prosecutions that may have been affected. It also proposed that sensitive information be provided through the legally authorised Intelligence Oversight Committee.

Broader implications

Members framed the recommendations as measures to protect policing and prosecutorial institutions from disruptive executive actions and from potential criminal influence. The committee’s recommendations expand its remit beyond police corruption to address perceived institutional weaknesses in the wider criminal justice system.

Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has been on special leave since July 2025.

Next steps

The draft report remained under debate as members worked through the proposed recommendations and referrals for investigation.