News24 | PODCAST | The Lead: The real costs of the police’s PKTT. PLUS: Bafana’s last chance

R4.4m. Suburb depending, that’s the price of a decent four-bedroom house these days. It’s also the amount of money that General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s much-touted Political Killings Task Team spent per conviction over three years. Plus: Bafana Bafana have one last chance after Mokoena-gate to redeem themselves.

Much of the Madlanga Commission’s focus has been on detailing the events leading up to the disbandment of KwaZulu-Natal’s Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) nearly a year ago and the alleged reasons behind the decision.

Outspoken provincial police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has been emphatic that the team’s performance is worthy of applause, and that now-suspended Minister Senzo Mchunu had no business interfering in the unit’s affairs, allegedly without the president’s knowledge.

Additional allegations are that the push to get rid of the PKTT was all to shield members of the so-called ‘Big Five’ criminal syndicate who’d infiltrated themselves into the establishment.

But if we pause and consider the text-based evidence tabled before the commission regarding the PKTT’s effectiveness, has it been all that impressive and worthwhile?

Jean Redpath is a senior researcher at the Dullah Omar Institute at the University of the Western Cape and argues in this edition of The Lead that the costs involved in the PKTT achieving so few convictions are perhaps not bang for SA’s buck.

Later, in our trending topic, News24 soccer journalist Tashreeq Vardien helps us take stock of where a draw against Zimbabwe leaves Bafana Bafana in its final bid to qualify for next year’s FIFA World Cup.

Finally, we reflect on the country’s long LGBTQ+ journey with On This Day in SA History.

You can send our host, broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer, a voice note with your questions or thoughts on the show: 072 562 3179. Mail us: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.

Tune into Spotify:

Catch us on YouTube:

We’re also on Apple Podcasts: