The word “immediately” included in embattled police minister Senzo Mchunu’s December 31 letter ordering the disbanding of the political killings task team (PKTT) took centre stage in the parliamentary ad hoc committee on Wednesday.
The committee is investigating allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system made by KZN police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Mchunu is the fourth witness to testify, facing tough questions from MPs about his alleged involvement in political interference in police investigations.
MPs interrogated Mchunu over his choice of the word “immediate” in the letter, with many arguing that the word meant that he wanted the task team to be disbanded right away.
In the letter sent to national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola, Mchunu said: “My observation in this regard, as indicated above, is that further existence of this Team is no longer required nor is it adding any value to policing in South Africa.”
“I therefore direct that the political killings task team be disestablished immediately. Further, a preliminary report in this regard should be submitted to the minister by the 20th of January 2025. The final and closing report must be submitted to the ministry management executive committee meeting in late January 2025, the date of which will be communicated as soon as possible."
The instruction was opposed by senior police, including Masemola and Mkhwanazi, who argued that Mchunu did not have a legal mandate to issue the directive. However, Mchunu has maintained that he was well within his rights to make the decision.
The minister came under intense scrutiny from MPs, who demanded an explanation, specifically the word “immediately.”
In his explanation, Mchunu said the word “immediately” did not necessarily mean to disband the task team instantly. He said Masemola had an opportunity to discuss his concerns regarding the letter in the 20 days he had been given to submit the preliminary report.
“I think Masemola understood it well,” Mchunu said. “It was clear that this is his understanding.”
He provided an example to explain his definition of the word.
“If you say, ‘When are you going to Johannesburg?’ you’d say, ‘I’m going to Johannesburg now,’ but the next thing you do is wait at the airport. Let’s be practical and ordinary and not seek to change the flow of things in normal life.”
He said he wrote the letter with a full understanding of what the words meant.
“When I wrote, I wrote with a full understanding of what I meant: that I’m making a decision now, but let’s meet in January, which was open if anybody had a query and would have phoned. I don’t think we should be fussy and rigid in terms of the meaning of ‘immediate,’ even though it has to be applied.”
Despite his explanation, MPs were left confused.
MK Party MP David Skosana told Mchunu to accept the word for what it means instead of making examples.
“I thought the minister would have accepted the issue and the meaning,” Skosana said.
“It’s like they are insulting our intelligence, explaining this issue of ‘immediate’ as if we don’t understand. Minister, you must accept that ‘immediate’ means immediate and not what you’re trying to explain. We understand what ‘immediate’ means; please respect us.”
ActionSA MP Dareleen James described Mchunu’s explanation as “insulting”.
“It’s insulting our intelligence to be going over this and saying that the word ‘immediate’ may mean now or later and coming up with all these examples. Can you not insult us like this?”
EFF leader Julius Malema urged Mchunu to accept what the word really means.
He said Masemola had an opportunity to discuss his concerns regarding the letter in the 20 days he had been given to submit the preliminary report.
“We seem to understand ‘immediate’ to mean now. He’s the only one who doesn’t understand that. He gives it the context of light and all of that.”
Mchunu concludes his testimony on Wednesday.
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