Members of Parliament serving on the SAPS Ad Hoc Committee have until Thursday to submit written questions to President Cyril Ramaphosa, following a decision that he will not appear before the committee to give oral evidence.
The committee unanimously agreed that the President will respond in writing rather than testify in person as part of its ongoing inquiry.
Committee chairperson Soviet Lekganyane said the written questions will focus primarily on the establishment and mandate of the now-disbanded Political Killings Task Team, which was created to investigate politically motivated murders.
“The decision is that the President is not going to appear before the committee,” Lekganyane said. “The task team that was investigating the political killings was appointed by the President. He is also the one who appoints the chairperson of that committee, which you call the IMC. That is basically why we felt that he should be written to.”
Lekganyane explained that the President’s role in setting up and overseeing the structure makes his input critical to the committee’s work, even if provided through written submissions.
The committee is continuing its probe into matters related to policing and accountability, with Ramaphosa’s responses expected to clarify the scope, operations and decisions surrounding the specialised task team.