JOHANNESBURG – Gauteng will establish a police task team to investigate politically related deaths dating back to 2010, Premier Panyaza Lesufi announced on Wednesday.
The team will examine politically motivated killings from as far back as 2010, making Gauteng the second province after KwaZulu-Natal to form such a specialized unit. KwaZulu-Natal remains the only province with an existing task team, established on recommendations from the Moerane Commission, which identified it as the country’s hotbed for political killings.
“This initiative represents a significant step forward, bolstering the fight against political violence,” Lesufi said during a media briefing. “The Government of Provincial Unity supports all these initiatives to ensure there is peace and political tolerance in our province.”
Resource planning is underway with the acting police minister, with terms of reference being finalized for the new unit. The task team’s mandate will extend beyond political assassinations to include taxi-related violence.
“We want to argue that within this political task team, issues related to taxi violence and the leadership of the taxi industry – that have been killed in our province – should not be excluded,” Lesufi told reporters.
The announcement comes as political violence continues to plague South African provinces. KwaZulu-Natal’s task team, formed after the Moerane Commission’s findings, has investigated numerous high-profile political assassinations in recent years.
Gauteng’s decision to establish its own unit reflects growing concerns about political killings spreading beyond KwaZulu-Natal. The province has witnessed several unresolved murders of political figures and taxi industry leaders over the past decade.
The task team will investigate cases spanning 14 years, potentially reopening cold cases that have remained unsolved. Officials did not specify when the unit would become operational or how many investigators would be assigned.
The inclusion of taxi violence in the team’s mandate acknowledges the intersection between political power and the lucrative taxi industry in South Africa’s economic hub. Taxi associations control billions of rand in revenue and have been linked to numerous violent incidents.
Acting Police Minister officials are working with provincial authorities to ensure adequate resources and proper coordination between the new Gauteng unit and the existing KwaZulu-Natal task team.
