When Elaine Harrison found out about the controversial plan to disband the province's 'essential' Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) from social media, she thought it was fake news, it emerged at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.

Elaine Harrison, the Director of Public Prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal, viewed the province's PKTT as essential because the crimes it was dealing with were destabilising and could spread.

So, when she saw reports on social media at the start of the year that it was being disbanded, she thought it was fake news.

Harrison, testifying on Friday, 26 September, at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, said she later realised that the disbandment news may be true, even though she was never officially told so.

"At no stage was any formal communication addressed to my office notifying us of the de-establishment of the task team," she said.

Harrison added that she has still not been formally informed about the PKTT's status.

She was the commission's fourth witness.

'Essential and necessary'

So far, a significant portion of the hearings, which started more than a week ago, have focused on Senzo Mchunu, the police minister who is now on special leave because of various allegations against him, and...