Senthumule Challenges Claims That Political Killings Task Team Drained SAPS Budget

Acting deputy national police commissioner for crime detection, Hilda Senthumule, has pushed back against claims that the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) placed a heavy financial burden on the SAPS budget.

Testifying before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Friday, Senthumule said the notion that the PKTT drained resources was unfounded, noting that every specialised unit required funding to operate.

Senthumule was involved in overseeing 121 dockets temporarily moved from the PKTT to SAPS headquarters in Pretoria for four months. She told the commission that, based on her experience, the task team was not excessively consuming national funds.

Budget Constraints Across SAPS Task Teams

In a letter dated 31 December, police minister Senzo Mchunu — currently on special leave — cited budget pressures as one of the reasons for dissolving the PKTT.

However, Senthumule said financial limitations were not unique to the PKTT.

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“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 reapply to the CFO for extension of the budget, it’s how it works,” she told the inquiry.

PKTT Had Approved Budget for 2025/26

Despite concerns raised around spending, the PKTT had been allocated R31 million for the 2025/26 financial year, a budget approved in August.

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