Senior NPA official to appear before Madlanga Commission

A senior National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) official will appear before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Friday morning.

The official is expected to provide further detail on a letter containing an instruction by Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu to disband the KwaZulu-Natal political killings task team in 2024.

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A team of prosecutors from the NPA were previously assigned to assist the task team in their work and ensure investigations were prosecution-led, with the ultimate goal of securing speedy convictions.

Last week, KZN Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi told the commission that the NPA in the province was allegedly not briefed on Mchunu’s instruction to disband the task team, which would have directly impacted the team of prosecutors assisting in investigations.

Mchunu’s letter also instructed National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola to halt the filling of all provincial and national Crime Intelligence vacancies.

Crime expert Chad Thomas said while the fight for control of Crime Intelligence is at the centre of the battle within the South African Police Service, it remains a crucial unit within SAPS.

“They still are successful, albeit some of them are captured. If one looks at the anti-kidnapping task team and other task teams that have been set up, they have been successful. So just like SAPS needs and overhaul because there’s a deficit of leadership, so does crime Intelligence, but we must stop with this narrative that crime Intelligence must be disbanded and posts must not be filled.”