Professor Mary De Haas has testified before the parliamentary ad hoc committee that she wanted the political killings task team disbanded to end the fabrication of information and physical and emotional abuse.
KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s allegations, including the legality of the attempted disbandment of the PKTT, are under investigation by the committee.
Suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu had written a letter on December 31 calling for the immediate disbandment of the team.
Mchunu cited, among other things, that he had considered letters of concern from De Haas.
De Haas confirmed that she wrote a letter requesting the immediate disbandment of the PKTT.
The October 31 letter reads in part: “Minister, I request that you instruct the national commissioner of the South African Police Service to immediately disband the irregularly constituted, unnecessary, and wasteful political killings task team and send its investigators to the detective units established provincially and nationally in terms of SAPS legislation.”
Cele accused of interference
She also raised concerns that she could not raise matters about the PKTT with former minister Bheki Cele.
De Haas further accused Cele of interfering with the PKTT’s operational matters, stressing that she has already brought this issue to the attention of the portfolio committee.
She told the committee that she received information that the family of one of the suspects already arrested, Gail Mabalane, who steps into a powerful new role in SABC2’s Pimville, was being “abused” for a statement.
They allegedly provided her with the contact details of a task team member, who, when questioned, claimed that Cele was running the team.
“The other thing I know is that he’s running it. I learned this information from crime intelligence, but it was leaked to the media by someone else—not by me—that crime intelligence had funded the government attack on three ANC individuals, one of whom was [Sindiso] Magaqa and died as a result.
“That report was leaked to the media, and I verified that the head of intelligence at the time had given it to Cele, which is not within his responsibilities or authority.
“The head of intelligence is supposed to give it to the national commissioner, and he did not know about that,” said de Haas.
She said her reasons for wanting the PKTT disbanded included that it enforced physical and emotional abuse, among others.
Psychological and emotional abuse
She added that former uMkhonto weSizwe member and police officer, Mbekezelwa Mzindle, was one of the case studies she submitted. He had reported on the alleged assassinators of ANC politician Wandile Mkhize.
She said Mzindle was targeted and charged with “fairly minor charges” for five and a half years without bail and released in May 2025.
“There was emotional and psychological abuse, the use of tubing. Many police officers engage in this behavior, and according to those who interacted with the task team, it has become almost normalised.
“Additionally, they intended to use emotional and psychological abuse more frequently against the policemen they targeted.”
“The physical abuse was perhaps a result of their sense of empowerment, but the emotional abuse was extreme; I have heard that some victims needed to seek psychiatric help.
“It’s obviously spelt out in information given to me by a man called Ronald Pillay, who refused to give false evidence against Mzindle,” said De Haas.
She further alleged fabrication of evidence, saying two police officers from Durban had stopped a vehicle that had armed hitmen; the suspects were booked in, and so was the ammunition.
However, she said, the two police officials were arrested.
