Gauteng's first political killings task team will be established in four weeks to look into instances that date back to 2010, Premier Panyaza Lesufi said on Wednesday. Image: Gauteng Provincial Government
(The Post News) – Gauteng is preparing to form its first-ever task force on political assassinations in the next four weeks, a major step in response to the increase in political violence. The new team will look into politically motivated killings in the province that date back to 2010, Premier Panyaza Lesufi confirmed when he unveiled it on Wednesday.
Addressing a “Worrying Rise” in Violence
Premier Lesufi said during a media conference that the African National Congress (ANC), which is in charge of Gauteng’s Government of Provincial Unity (GPU), has observed a worrying rise in these kinds of instances. “The frequency of political killings in our province over the past three months has been witnessed and documented by the ANC. Numerous council members, public servants, and government representatives have left,” Lesufi stated. He emphasized that these murders are not “innocent” and a committed response is necessary.
Lesufi, Police Minister Professor Firoz Cachalia, and Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni, the provincial police commissioner, conferred before making the decision. National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola acknowledged the creation of the new unit, which will function under the auspices of the South African Police Service (SAPS). Lesufi stated that preparations are currently in progress to formalize the specialized unit’s terms of reference and allot the required resources. The unit will be responsible for settling politically sensitive and high-profile cases.
Additionally, the Premier called on government workers and members of the public to come forward with information, stressing that the province has a duty to ensure justice for the victims and their families. Noting the targeted murders of cab executives, he continued by saying the task team shouldn’t overlook any incidents involving violence in the sector.
Following KZN’s Lead and Addressing National Controversy
The Gauteng declaration coincides with a national focus on political violence, including the contentious docket management in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), the only other province with a similar task team. After identifying the province as a hotspot for these killings, the Moerane Commission made recommendations that led to the creation of the KZN team in 2019.
In order to facilitate further investigations, 121 dockets pertaining to political assassinations in KZN were recently restored to the defunct provincial task team. President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister Cachalia, however, have criticized this decision, arguing that the original dockets should have stayed with the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, which is looking into corruption and political meddling in the criminal justice system. On September 1, an agreement was reached that would allow the commission to have copies of the dockets while the police kept the originals for further investigation.
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