Gauteng government busy finalising terms of reference for police political killings task team

JOHANNESBURG - The Gauteng government said that there is a desperate need for a police political killings task team in the province.

Kwazulu-Natal is currently the only province with such a task team which was formed on the recommendation of the Moerane commission which identified the province as the country’s hotbed for political killings.

In May this year, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) member of parliament (MP)  Khethamabala Sithole was shot and killed in Ekurhuleni while police are still searching for the killers of African National Congress (ANC) Tshwane councillor Thabang Masemola.

At a media briefing on Wednesday, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said that the provincial government is currently busy with finalising the terms of reference for the task team with the acting police minister. 

"There are people that have just been killed and no one followed up. So we really believe in this political task team. I am really glad this new minister listened to us when we requested we need this kind of report. Unfortunately the police in our country are currently going through difficulties of commissions, misinterpretations of mandates and many other things. We didn’t want to be dragged there, our approach was that let establish a task team in our province and ensure that it is approapriately resourced.”