A Patriotic Alliance (PA) lawmaker named Ashley Sauls has publicly demanded that the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) and comparable SAPS teams be disbanded. Instead, he says, we should put all of our money into making the South African Police Service (SAPS) stronger in each of the country’s nine provinces.
According to Sauls, private security corporations have evolved into “elite special force teams” with resources that surpass the SAPS’s, and he has spoken out against this situation, calling it “unacceptable.” As one of numerous specialist detective groups created to address certain crime categories, the Political Killings Task Team investigates murders that are believed to have political motivations.
The PKTT has examined numerous cases involving political assassinations since its formation in 2018 under the auspices of the SAPS Detective Services. But it hasn’t been without controversy since 2025, when Police Minister Senzo Mchunu disbanded the squad in KwaZulu-Natal, citing a desire to avoid political problems as his justification.
Skeptics like Sauls bring up the fact that the PKTT and comparable task forces may have isolated enforcement functions and given the impression of having more resources and equipment than ordinary police units, even if this was not their intention. They claim that the accountability and overall effectiveness of the South African Police Service (SAPS) are called into question by this difference, which in turn reduces the overall policing capacity across provinces.
Sauls proposes disbanding these specialist units in order to reallocate funds to increase the overall size and presence of the police force across the country. This could result in a more coordinated and effective approach to reducing South Africa’s alarming crime statistics.
His demand for reform brings attention to the continuing discussions on the optimal strategy to combat crime and preserve public safety in South Africa, as well as the relative merits of specialist units and general law enforcement. Because it involves issues of public safety, police reform, and the distribution of resources, the topic is politically delicate.
