Hearing record
Day 45
Witness: Senzo Mchunu
Suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu continues his testimony, defending the disbanding of the political killings task team as lawful housekeeping while the commission probes whether the timing shielded people it was investigating.
The day in brief
What you need to know
- Mchunu continued responding to allegations that he had links to businessman Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala and alleged intermediary Brown Mogotsi.
- He testified that the National Political Killings Task Team was operating unlawfully and in breach of the Public Finance Management Act, framing its disbandment as a lawful correction.
- The commission heard the underlying allegation, from Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, that the team was disbanded to shield politically connected members of a criminal syndicate from prosecution.
- Justice Madlanga had earlier found it 'very strange' that Mchunu did not raise the planned disbandment with National Commissioner Fannie Masemola when they met at a funeral on 28 December 2024, days before the 31 December directive.
- Mchunu denies the allegations of criminal ties and political interference.
- A parliamentary committee later, in July 2026, cleared Mchunu of links to the underworld, though the commission's own assessment is separate and ongoing.
Full coverage
The day, in depth
Lawful housekeeping or a shield?
Mchunu argued the task team had drifted into unlawful operation and PFMA breaches, casting the disbandment as correcting a governance problem rather than protecting anyone. The commission weighed that against the allegation that the unit was actively investigating Matlala when it was shut down. The competing framings - administrative tidy-up versus obstruction - defined the day.
The funeral meeting that wasn't mentioned
A recurring thread was the 28 December 2024 encounter with National Commissioner Fannie Masemola at a funeral, three days before the disbandment directive. Justice Madlanga had called it 'very strange' that Mchunu said nothing about his plan to a figure so central to policing. Mchunu maintained he had acted properly and denied any improper motive.
Our analysis
The bottom line
The heart of Mchunu's defence is a legal characterisation: if the task team was operating unlawfully, disbanding it looks like duty rather than cover-up. The commission's counter-pressure - the timing, the missing consultation, the funeral silence - probes whether lawful-sounding reasons were the real ones. This is contested territory, and Mchunu's denials are entitled to full weight pending any finding.
It is worth separating fora. A parliamentary committee's July 2026 clearance of Mchunu on underworld links speaks to Parliament's inquiry, not the commission's mandate on political interference in the justice system. Readers should not read one body's conclusion as the other's; the Madlanga process continues on its own record.
Analysis is the archive’s own comment on the public proceedings, grounded in the record above. It weighs the evidence and the process; questions of individual guilt are for the courts and the commission to decide. Everyone named is presumed innocent.
On the record
Who testified this day
Follow the threads
Who Senzo Mchunu connects to
Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi
Mkhwanazi's July 2025 briefing and testimony placed Mchunu at the centre of the task-team disbandment claims.
View profile →National Commissioner he allegedly bypassedLieutenant-General Fannie Masemola
Masemola testified the disbandment directive encroached on his operational mandate.
View profile →Co-named over the disbandmentLieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya
Both were named in connection with the weakening of the political killings task team.
View profile →Alleged associateOupa 'Brown' Mogotsi
Mogotsi was described in evidence as an alleged conduit between Mchunu and an alleged cartel figure; both deny wrongdoing.
View profile →Zoom out
Related case files
Medicare24 SAPS tender
A R360 million police medical tender, about R228 million paid, a web of alleged funders - and a central accused who pleaded guilty, then withdrew the deal and now heads to trial.
Read the case file →Case file - Political interferenceKhan-Malema-Sayed network
A crime intelligence general, a cigarette businessman, and a political leader - the Nyatlo affidavit traces an alleged network of mutual protection spanning police contracts, parliamentary questions, and a private complainant's home address.
Read the case file →In the room & on the record
Counsel, the panel and sources
On the panel
- Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga (chairperson)