The South African Police Service’s (SAPS) Governance, Legislation and Policy Head Major General Petronella van Rooyen as urged the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry to focus on the legal implications of political interference in police operations.
Her comments followed the embattled Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s alleged interference when he disbanded the Political Killing Task Team (PKTT).
Van Rooyen is the third witness to testify at the commission; others include National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola and KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
She says, “The implications of political interference and specifically relating to where does the role of the minister stops and where does the role of the national commissioner starts, and to bring clarity. I said earlier, not only for the national commissioner and the minister but also for the organisation as a whole to ensure that there is clarity on the role of each role player.”
Meanwhile, the PKTT is expected to be the focus of the Inquiry’s public hearings when a new witness takes the stand in Pretoria on Friday morning.
The 121 case dockets are central to the commission, which has been tasked with looking into corruption and political interference within law enforcement agencies.
The dockets were seized from the task team by Deputy Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya following the disbandment of the unit.
The inquiry has since heard that Sibiya’s decision to seize the dockets and keep them at the SAPS Head Office has compromised investigations, which have made it more difficult for police to probe the matters.
The next witness in the commission is expected to delve more into the controversial dockets, which have since been returned to the PKTT.
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