WATCH | Crime intelligence head Khumalo reveals Sibiya’s push to end PKTT

The Madlanga commission has heard how Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya, the embattled suspended police deputy commissioner for crime detection, supported the work of the political killings task team (PKTT) months before another team working with them discovered a criminal syndicate that he was allegedly linked to.

Sibiya allegedly pushed for the closure of the PKKT after the discovery of the cartel.

This was revealed by the police’s head of crime intelligence, Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo, who told the commission that Sibiya supported the recommendations that were made by him to the office of the CFO for the PKTT to receive funds for another term.

He told the commission that Sibiya also expanded the mandate of the PKTT to the Eastern Cape.

“There was a time when there were killings in the Eastern Cape. He [Sibiya] was on his way to attend to that, and he sent me a message and said that it looks like you have to prepare some of your [PKTT] members, which means he was aware of the performance of the PKTT because he had requested for their mandate of the PKTT to be extended to that investigation [of] the Eastern Cape [killings], ”he said.

In December last year, a Gauteng police counterintelligence team, with the assistance of the PKTT, identified the criminal cartel and two of its members, Katiso “KT” Molefe and Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.

The pair were investigated by the team, and Molefe was arrested for allegedly organising the killing of Armand Swart, a Vaal engineer who was murdered after his company flagged a corruptly inflated Transnet tender.

Swart was shot 23 times in an apparent case of mistaken identity.

It is alleged that Sibiya received money from both Molefe and Matlala in exchange for protecting them, according to Witness C, who testified at the commission earlier.

At the end of December, now-suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu issued the directive to dissolve the PKTT.

Khumalo said after the disbandment notice was issued, Sibiya pushed for the closing report of the task team and asked that their dockets be taken to his office.

When Khumalo was asked what might have influenced the disbandment, he said the decision could have been linked to the investigations into the criminal cartel in December.

Khumalo said Sibiya pushed for the immediate disbandment of the PKTT.

He told the commission earlier that Sibiya also influenced Mchunu to halt the filling of the positions of intelligence divisional heads because of disagreements on a suitable interviewing panel.

He said he and Sibiya had reached a stalemate on the panel that would have to recommend people to fill the positions.

The halting of the vacancies was included in Mchunu’s letter.

Khumalo added that the ongoing vacancies have crippled operational capacity and exposed a serious policy oversight within police.

“The drafters of the policy never foresaw disputes of this nature arising. The vacant posts are a problem—their impact is significant,” he said.

The commission continues.

Sowetan