A retired Constitutional Court judge has condemned the relocation of 121 political murder investigation files from KwaZulu-Natal to Pretoria as illogical after hearing testimony that officials responsible for the transfer could not explain its purpose. Mbuyiseli Madlanga questioned witnesses during commission hearings examining potential interference in South Africa's justice system, noting that investigators tasked with reviewing the cases did not understand why an audit required moving documents from their provincial base.
The files belonged to the Political Killings Task Team, a specialized unit disbanded after murder suspects allegedly connected to criminal syndicates pressured authorities to shut down operations. Suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya ordered the March transfer for auditing purposes, claiming he followed instructions from Police Commissioner Fanie Masemola, who denied issuing such directives. Officers involved testified they regretted participating in what they described as a chaotic 24-hour handover process.
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia reversed the decision months later, returning the dockets to KwaZulu-Natal investigators. Provincial Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi had previously warned that leaving the files inactive at national headquarters could allow suspects to escape prosecution.
The files belonged to the Political Killings Task Team, a specialized unit disbanded after murder suspects allegedly connected to criminal syndicates pressured authorities to shut down operations. Suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya ordered the March transfer for auditing purposes, claiming he followed instructions from Police Commissioner Fanie Masemola, who denied issuing such directives. Officers involved testified they regretted participating in what they described as a chaotic 24-hour handover process.
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia reversed the decision months later, returning the dockets to KwaZulu-Natal investigators. Provincial Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi had previously warned that leaving the files inactive at national headquarters could allow suspects to escape prosecution.
