Parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating allegations of police corruption has struggled to establish whether criminal elements influenced Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s decision to disband the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT).
The issue has exposed sharp differences among MPs as the committee continues working on its draft report.
The Patriotic Alliance (PA) maintains that there is insufficient evidence to link Mchunu’s directive to the protection of organised crime cartels.
PA representative Ashley Sauls said the events that followed the directive amounted to a winding-down process and argued that the committee could not establish an intention to protect criminal networks.
“Therefore, we as the committee are able to say we don’t see any direct link between the directive and the protection of criminal elements,” Sauls said.
However, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Leigh-Ann Mathys challenged this position, arguing that the committee could not make a definitive finding that there was no criminal infiltration simply because it had not established one.
“We can’t even make a finding that there was criminal infiltration, even if there was evidence before us. So, for us to say there was no evidence for it, it defeats the whole purpose, and we are outside our mandate,” Mathys said.
The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party has taken a different position, calling for the committee to find that Mchunu misrepresented to Parliament the extent of his discussions with President Cyril Ramaphosa over the directive.
The competing positions mean the committee faces a difficult task in finalising its report, particularly over what conclusions can reasonably be drawn from the evidence presented during its investigation.
At the heart of the dispute is whether the available evidence supports a finding of wrongdoing, whether it merely raises unanswered questions, or whether the committee should refrain from making a definitive finding on criminal infiltration.
The committee continued making amendments to its draft report on Thursday night as MPs worked towards finalising their respective positions.