Everybody knew former police minister Bheki Cele was involved in operational matters of the political killings task team (PKTT).
This is according to human rights activist and violence monitor Mary de Haas, who is testifying before parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system.
De Haas has been accused of being the driving force behind suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu’s directive to disband the PKTT, a central focus of the committee’s investigation.
In her testimony, De Haas told the the committee that interference in police cases was known during Cele’s tenure, which began in 2018, and that it was common knowledge.
She said in her experience of writing about political killings in KwaZulu-Natal, she recounted receiving numerous complaints that suspects were allegedly being abused by the task team to force them into making statements.
When she inquired about who was leading the team, she was allegedly told that Cele was running it.
“I was not surprised because I’ve heard it before.”
She cited the 2017 murder case of former ANC Youth League secretary-general Sindiso Magaqa as another example of Cele’s alleged involvement.
“It transpired that the head of intelligence at the time had given the report to Cele, which was supposed to be given to the national commissioner.
“I complained to parliament that he shouldn’t be running this team himself, and the chairperson agreed, but nothing was done.”
Cele has previously testified before the committee, stating he was against Mchunu’s directive to disband the PKTT. He argued that Mchunu should have consulted the inter-ministerial committee under the leadership of the president.
“Procedurally, I don’t agree with it,” Cele said. “The way it came through should have been reversed the same way. When I saw the letter, I said, ‘This can’t be’.”
Crime intelligence head Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo, who headed the PKTT, told the Madlanga commission that Cele never interfered in the task team’s investigations.
“There were no instructions that would come from the minister as chair of the inter-ministerial committee,” Khumalo said. “They would receive progress reports from the PKTT on a continuous basis.”
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