President Cyril Ramaphosa might be called to testify at the Madlanga commission after it emerged that police minister Senzo Mchunu could have briefed him on the possible disbandment of the political killings task team.
Government sources said that if Ramaphosa did appear, it would probably be in camera due to national security concerns.
One source said a final decision would probably depend on what Mchunu, who has been suspended following the allegations made by Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, tells the commission in his testimony.
“So the minister must come and say ‘the president agreed’. Which will be flawed, because the president can’t agree to that disbandment, it’s an IMC [inter-ministerial committee] issue,” the source said.
“The commission must ask Senzo, ‘Before you wrote that letter [to disband the task force] did you submit this thing to the IMC?’ Because it’s the president who established the IMC on the political killings.”
Claims that Ramaphosa was aware of Mchunu’s intention to disband the task team came during national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola’s testimony to the commission last week.
But questions are being raised about whether Mchunu had been honest about what he told Ramaphosa and whether Ramaphosa had “applied his mind” to it.
“This commission has the powers to declare that some of its sessions will be held in camera,” a government source said. “If they want the president to speak, they may call him and say part of what we want you to talk about cannot be discussed in public for national security.
“The president has a responsibility which goes beyond things that are discussed in public.”
An insider in the Presidency told the Sunday Times this week that Ramaphosa had been briefed by Mchunu of his intentions to disband the police task team, which was investigating a slew of political killings suspected to be linked to internal ANC rivalries in KwaZulu-Natal.
According to the insider, Ramaphosa did not delve deeper into what Mchunu told him.
There is no question that the president was aware, but he trusted the minister on this issue
— Insider
“When ministers approach the president with an issue, they don’t exactly give him the full picture at times. There is no question that the president was aware, but he trusted the minister on this issue. I can’t say he gave his approval; he just trusted the minister,” the source said.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said he would not respond to issues involving the Madlanga commission in “a piecemeal fashion”.
“We will look at the entirety of the evidence delivered before deciding on the manner and approach of our response. Obviously, that will also be in consultation with the commission,” he said.
Several people close to Ramaphosa said the president would not have given Mchunu the OK to disband the unit without first taking the proposal to the IMC.
One highly placed government insider said Mchunu’s honesty could be questioned. This source said Ramaphosa’s actions — suspending Mchunu and establishing the commission of inquiry — were not those of someone with something to hide.
“The question is whether the president said [to Masemola], ‘Do as your minister is saying you must do’ — the national commissioner didn’t say that,” this source said.
“If the president agreed with Senzo to disband the unit, then why send him on special leave? Why is the president setting up the commission? What does he want the commission to find? Would he give the commission these terms of reference if he himself had said disband this thing?”
Top cops testified this week at the Madlanga commission, each claiming that Mchunu’s decision to disband the task team was unlawful.
In his testimony, Masemola said he was taken aback by Mchunu’s decision, arguing that it was only the president who, knowing about the effectiveness of the political killings task team, had asked it to assist with investigating the 2023 murder of the bodyguard of the Fort Hare University vice-chancellor.
However, one senior intelligence officer who spoke to the Sunday Times said it would have been impossible for Mchunu to dissolve the task team without the approval of the president.
This officer said the IMC would have raised the issue with Mchunu if he had been acting on his own.
“The disbandment would have been communicated by the minister,” this source said. “The police minister is in the IMC ... It is not going to be the three or four ministers that constitute the IMC who communicate with the national commissioner.
“Senzo can’t have disbanded the task team without the president. Senzo would not be able to disband without the knowledge of the IMC and the president,” the officer said. “Because when the IMC sits after the disbandment, it will have the minutes, and the minutes will indicate that there was a task team established and the IMC would have been the first one to query why he has chosen to disband.”
The Sunday Times reported earlier this year that there were concerns within the police about the effectiveness of the task team and its ballooning costs.
The report cited documents that showed that Masemola had been advised to disband the unit as early as April last year by the CFO of the police, Lt-Gen Puleng Dimpane.
“Considering the 11% reduction in the operational budget of the organisation, the following are recommended: an amount of R20m be approved for 2024/2025 financial year," a note from Dimpane to Masemola said. “Post elections, the task team be deactivated as it has been in existence for the last five years.”
Masemola approved the R20m, and responded: “Task team will continue beyond elections so long as there is work to be done; team [will] continue to be localised to KwaZulu-Natal.”
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