De Haas says she lobbied for PKTT's disbandment because of reports of physical & emotion abuse by its members

CAPE TOWN - Academic and crime activist, Professor Mary de Haas, said she lobbied for the disbandment of the political killings task team (PKTT) because of reports of physical and emotional abuse by its members.

De Haas also alleges that the PKTT was involved in the fabrication of evidence during its investigations into politically related murders in KwaZulu-Natal.

De Haas was giving evidence before the Parliament ad hoc committee on her involvement in policing matters and suspended Minister Senzo Mchunu's directive to disband the PKTT.

Mary de Haas, during her evidence, faced questions from the evidence leader about her interactions with former minister, Bheki Cele, and how he involved himself in operational matters of PKTT.

De Haas also spoke about how Crime Intelligence head, Dumisani Khumalo, the PKTT project leader, was not adequately qualified to lead the specialised team of investigators and prosecutors.

She also said the PKTT didn’t cover itself in glory and abused its powers almost with impunity.

"There was the emotional and physical abuse. The use of tubing, a lot of police do it but it’s almost a norm from what anybody who encountered the task team spoke of, but also emotional and psychological abuse, which they tended to use more with the policemen they targeted."

De Haas said another common theme in the PKTT’s approach was how evidence was fabricated, with people wrongfully accused of crimes like murder.