Prof. Mary de Haas, a University of KwaZulu-Natal criminologist, testified Tuesday before Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee on allegations of misconduct by the disbanded Provincial KwaZulu-Natal Task Team (PKTT), which investigated political killings.
She described reports of warrantless searches, evidence fabrication, psychological torment, and wrongful detentions, while refusing to name sources for safety reasons in the violence-prone province.
De Haas criticized the committee’s expertise, expressed distrust in police leaders like Lt-Gen Nhlanhazi Mkhwanazi, and highlighted resource waste on the PKTT amid broader policing failures in KwaZulu-Natal.