On Sunday, 6 July, KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi held a media briefing that sent waves across the country. He alleged that the judiciary, suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and others were corrupt and colluding with criminal networks.
Mkhwanazi said an investigation with the Gauteng organised crime investigation unit unmasked a syndicate which involves politicians, law enforcement, metro police, correctional services, prosecutors and the judiciary, and is controlled by drug cartels as well as businesspeople.
To address these allegations and their implications, President Cyril Ramaphosa established a judicial commission of inquiry, chaired by Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga and assisted by advocates Sesi Baloyi SC and Sandile Khumalo SC.
Revelations from the Madlanga commission
Since 17 September, the commission has heard testimonies from several witnesses, some of whom have chosen to conceal their identities for safety reasons.
It has been a roller-coaster of emotions since the first witness, with some revelations leaving a sour taste in the nation’s mouth, while others brought lighter moments.
1. Disbandment of the PKTT
On 31 December 2024, Mchunu issued a directive to disband the political killings task team (PKTT). He said its “further existence is no longer required, nor is it adding any value to policing in South Africa”.
The letter did not hold much weight for South Africans until Mkhwanazi’s briefing and subsequent testimonies at the Madlanga commission.
We later heard from Mkhwanazi, Mchunu, national police commissioner Fannie Masemola, and Deputy Police Ministers Polly Boshielo and Cassel Mathale [at the parliament ad hoc committee] that Mchunu unilaterally decided to disband the PKTT.
If there is one issue on which most of the witnesses agreed, it is that the PKTT should not have been disbanded; if the decision was to be made, it should have involved all the role players.
2. The 121 dockets
Following the disbandment, there was a movement of dockets from KZN to the Saps head office in Pretoria. This was done without Mkhwanazi’s consent or knowledge.
We heard from Major-General Mary Motsepe, the component head for serious and violent crime investigations, that the dockets had been brought to the head office solely for audit. The auditing was done at Crime Intelligence.
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There remains a question as to why the dockets had to be audited in Pretoria rather than in KZN.
Mkhwanazi also told the commission that five of the 121 case dockets were ready for arrests. However, the arrests were not effected.
Motsepe told the commission that arrests did not take place because her unit did not have the funding to run such operations after Masemola denied her request.
The dockets were eventually returned to KZN on 28 August.
3. Mkhwanazi’s claim against Bheki Cele
We learned from the Madlanga commission that there was a breakdown of the relationship between Mkhwanazi and former police minister Bheki Cele. This was due to the former minister’s alleged “dodgy” conduct.
Mkhwanazi accused Cele of attempting to interfere with an investigation and subsequent disciplinary hearing against Major General Feroz Khan, who heads the Counter-Intelligence and Security Intelligence division.
Mkhwanazi said while investigations into Khan were ongoing and before the matter sat for a hearing, Cele called him to say that Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi had approached him to help fight crime in the province.
Cele’s call was mainly to request that Mkhwanazi release the district commander, Major General Jabu Khumalo, to Gauteng.
Mkhwanazi said he then informed General Khumalo about the call he had just received from Cele.
“General Khumalo just laughed, and he said, ‘Oh, don’t worry, the general is not serious about that’. So I asked him, What do you mean? He said, ‘No, he’s not serious. He wants me to back off on the case against Khan, General Khan from Crime Intelligence.”
General Khumalo had at the time been appointed to investigate General Khan’s matter.
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Mkhwanazi said he was disappointed to realise how far politicians are allegedly willing to go to shield their associates from investigations.
“That got me so upset, commissioners, that General Cele went to the extent of wanting a person to resign from the service because he wants to protect someone. It was very strange. I did not talk to General Cele from that day. I was very upset. He disappointed me as a person, who’s a former minister in the police.”
4. Brown Mogotsi: facts or rumours?
Mogotsi, whom Mchunu has described as a “comrade”, made a few claims of his own.
He claimed to have access to Saps classified information due to his position as an agent of Crime Intelligence. He said Mkhwanazi and King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini are CIA recruits.
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Mogotsi said the late former police minister, Nathi Mthethwa, removed Mkhwanazi as acting national police commissioner in 2011 due to his ties to the CIA. He confirmed the allegation that Cele had received money from Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala. A claim later repeated by Matlala himself.
However, Cele was not the only one to have allegedly received money from Matlala, Masemola and other Saps generals, too, alleged Mogotsi.
5. Presidential interference?
Mkhwanazi accused the Presidency of interfering with the redeployment of Saps officials to Richards Bay Minerals in KwaZulu-Natal.
This followed his earlier decision to recall the team back to KZN head office to cut costs. The team had been there for a year to investigate the murder cases of the company’s executives, to no avail.
He then received a call from Masemola.
“A call that I received from my boss, the national commissioner, who said to me, ‘I hear that you deployed people to Richards Bay and you withdrew them’. I said, ‘Yes, I deployed them there for a mission. I brought them back, and they are still carrying those investigations, but from my office. He said, ‘No, I received a complaint from the Presidency. You must send those people back there’.”
It is still unclear why the Presidency interfered in this deployment.
6. Matlala, Mogotsi and their Ipid connection
Analysis presented at the Madlanga commission by Police Divisional Commissioner of Crime Intelligence, Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo, suggested that Mogotsi and Matlala attempted to use their Ipid connections to open an assault case against members of the Gauteng counter-intelligence unit.
This was after the Hawks raided Matlala’s home in Tshwane in December, amid allegations of tender fraud at Tembisa Hospital.
At the time, the raid was marred by allegations of harassment.
Matlala attempted to open a case of assault against the officers.
Their connections did not end with Ipid.
Witness C, a member of the PKTT, testified that Matlala told police he was coming from former national police commissioner Riah Phiyega’s house at the time of his arrest.
Phiyega has denied this.
“He told us of his connection with high-ranking officials of the Saps. He started name-dropping, indicating that he was close to Mchunu, Brown Mogotsi and deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya,” said Witness C.
Witness C further said Matlala was advised by Mchunu, Sibiya and Mogotsi to open a case against officers who raided his home.
7. Matlala’s relationship with Shadrack Sibiya
Matlala said he used to provide security services to the late Pretoria taxi boss Jothan ‘Mswazi’ Msibi’s farm.
Sibiya was a regular person at the farm. The tenderpreneur also met Msibi’s associates at the farm, who were known as the ‘Big 5’.
After Msibi’s death, Sibiya allegedly approached Matlala and said, “Now, since the old man has passed away, please take care of me, and I will take care of you in return.”
The tenderpreneur allegedly started making payments of around R500 000 to Sibiya.
He told the police that Sibiya did not accept electronic transfers and preferred cash. As a result, there is no proof of payment.
Witness C said Sibiya helped Matlala in securing the R360 million police health services tender. He added that Sibiya also helped Matlala get access to the police medical facility at Pretoria College.
After receiving payment from the Saps tender, a portion of up to R1 million would go to Sibiya, Matlala told police.
The tenderpreneur told police that when Sibiya’s son got married, he gave him R300 000 towards the celebration.
The Saps contract has since been cancelled.
8. Julius Mkhwanazi
The Madlanga commission has heard how some of Matlala’s vehicles were fitted with blue lights by the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD).
This after suspended EMPD deputy commissioner Julius Mkhwanazi announced a memorandum of understanding, in a letter, between Matlala and the municipality.
However, former Ekurhuleni employee relations director Xolani Nciza told the Madlanga commission that it was Mkhwanazi, not the municipality, who had a working relationship with CAT VIP Protection.
Mkhwanazi had been on special leave since September this year after being linked to Matlala.
Nciza further told the commission that although the letter outlined an MOU between the two parties, there was no such agreement.
“There was a draft, and a draft is simply that, just a draft. But this letter, written by Mkhwanazi, indicates that there was an MOU. This representation was intended to clothe this arrangement with some form of regulatory standing where there was none. He did not have the authority to issue such a letter,” said Nciza.
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Kelebogile Thepa, who was a former media officer at the EMPD at the time of her testimony, detailed to the commission how a media enquiry about the blue light scandal sent her career at the municipality into a downward spiral.
She said her suggestions and honest approach to handling media enquiries about the blue light scandal put her life in danger.
Thepa claimed Mkhwanazi labelled her a dirty cop.
“In essence, in responding to this media enquiry and assisting the Ipid, powerful individuals were not pleased with the transparent response of the EMPD media unit. And it became clear that I offended some people by responding to the media enquiry in the manner that I did.”
The municipality has since reinstated Thepa to her position.
9. Matlala’s R360 million Saps contract
In late November, Matlala explained how his company, Medicare24 Tshwane District, was awarded the R360 million Saps health services contract.
While the contract was advertised for R360 million, R600 million was available in the Saps budget.
Saps auditors flagged the contract as a possible irregular expenditure in the first week of March 2024 and confirmed it as irregular in May.
R466 million was disclosed as irregular expenditure.
Matlala rented a hospital on the Saps training academy in Pretoria West in December 2023, months before securing the tender in June 2024.
He told the committee the timing of the two events was coincidental.
Matlala’s company had no track record with contracts of this nature, and this was, in fact, his company’s first contract.
Although it was his company that bid for the contract, he submitted documentation showing he was a franchisee and that Medicare24 Holdings would do the actual work.
He resigned from the company as a director in December 2024. However, he failed to inform the Saps of this fact and said it was an “oversight”.
The contract has been terminated.
10. Events that have transpired amid Madlanga commission
Since 17 September, several events have transpired with the commission’s witnesses. Some of the events were alleged to be related to the commission, while others were “incidental”.
After being placed on special leave in July, Mchunu stepped down from ANC activities in November.
“Comrade Senzo has presented himself to the Integrity Commission. When someone has presented themselves to the Integrity Commission, we wait for the conclusion of that process. And only when it is concluded, we get a report and table that reports to the NEC and its recommendations for decision making,” confirmed ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula.
Also in November, the City of Ekurhuleni reinstated the media and public relations division of the EMPD.
The decision saw EMPD officer Thepa returning to her role as head of the unit.
The city also suspended Mkhwanazi.
Before his appearance at the commission, Mogotsi allegedly survived a shooting in November. Mogotsi was attacked while driving a red Chevrolet in Vosloosrus at about 10pm on Monday, 3 November.
It is understood that unknown gunmen opened fire on his car. A bullet-riddled car used by Mogotsi was recovered by the Vosloorus police.
Early in December, Witness D, later identified as Marius van der Merwe, was shot outside his Brakpan home in Gauteng.
He implicated suspended EMPD top cop Mkhwanazi in criminal activity.
Since then, the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (Natjoints) and the Madlanga commission have met and developed a plan to heighten and enhance security for officials and witnesses linked to the commission.
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