Africa-Press – South-Africa. For the first time, Gauteng will have its own police task team dedicated to investigating political killings, premier Panyaza Lesufi said on Wednesday.
The unit, which is expected to launch within four weeks, will focus exclusively on high-profile assassinations of councillors, municipal officials and taxi industry leaders, Lesufi said.
“This is a major breakthrough for Gauteng. For the first time, we will have a provincially based political killings task team, properly resourced and mandated to conclude unresolved cases,” said Lesufi.
The task team will compile and pursue a backlog of cases stretching back to 2010. Lesufi said political killings in Gauteng were “not innocent” but often linked to power struggles, corruption and organised crime.
“Too many councillors, officials and whistle-blowers have been gunned down with little justice. Families deserve answers, and this task team is how we will deliver them.”
Lesufi said that in Tshwane at least 12 councillors had been assassinated in recent years, while Johannesburg has recorded three similar killings in just six months. The premier said many of these cases remain unsolved, deepening fears among public servants.
Lesufi said the unit’s mandate will extend to taxi industry-related murders, which he described as “deeply political and destabilising”.
“We cannot exclude the taxi industry. Violence in this sector is not just economic, it undermines governance and safety across our province,” he said.
Lesufi said the ANC does not believe the killings are random. “The party’s view is that these killings are not coincidental.
“I was assigned to meet police minister Firoz Cachalia to compile a database of unresolved cases dating back to 2010.”
He added that the findings pointed to the need for a specialised, province-based task team within the police and other law enforcement bodies.
After engagements with Cachalia and provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Tommy Mthombeni, Lesufi welcomed national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola’s confirmation that such a unit will be established.
Lesufi appealed to communities, political parties and public servants to come forward with information.
“We cannot do this alone. We urge anyone with knowledge to step forward. We owe it to our democracy, and to those who paid the ultimate price, to ensure political killings do not become a permanent feature of Gauteng.”
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