Madlanga Commission: Senthumule dismisses argument that PKTT was unduly draining SAPS budget

Acting deputy national police commissioner for crime detection, Hilda Senthumule, has dismissed the argument that the political killings task team (PKTT) was unduly draining the South African Police Service (SAPS) budget.

Testifying on Friday before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, Senthumule stated that all task teams incurred costs.

READ: Factional disputes over disbandment of PPKTT stalled probes into 121 politically-related killings, Madlanga Commission hears

She played a central role in the handling of 121 dockets that were temporarily transferred from the PKTT to SAPS Headquarters in Pretoria for a period of four months.

Senthumule specifically addressed the assertion regarding the PKTT's financial impact, stating she did not believe the team was financially draining the coffers of the SAPS' national budget.

The PKTT's budget was cited by Police Minister Senzo Mchunu as one of the reasons for axing the task team in his letter of disbandment on 31 December.

However, Senthumule maintained that budget constraints for task teams are not an unusual occurrence.

"I don't want to really get myself involved on whether the PKTT was draining resources, but I can respond and say that even the teams that we deploy, we come to a point where we are told there is no money and we have to re-apply to the CFO for extension of the budget, it’s how it works."

A budget of R31 million for the 2025/26 period was reportedly approved for the PKTT in August.