In September 2025, hearings for the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference, and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System – also known as the Madlanga Commission – began. The public inquiry, chaired by retired Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, was aimed at investigating allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. The allegations were made surrounding collusion and corruption within the criminal justice system. Hearings have revealed several pieces of evidence detailing the inner workings of corruption and collusion among politicians, senior police, intelligence operatives, and key players within the underworld of organised crime.
Background
During a press briefing on 6 July 2025, Mkhwanazi accused then Minister of Police Edward Senzo Mchunu of political interference with the work of the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) Political Killings Task Team (PKTT). The PKTT is an investigative task team that was established in 2018 following a slew of political killings within KwaZulu-Natal. In December 2024, Mchunu issued a directive, instructing National Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Fannie Masemola to disband the task team – a decision which Mkhwanazi alleges was taken with ulterior motives. Mkhwanazi details that in March 2025, 121 case dockets under investigation were taken away from the task team at the direction of Deputy National Commissioner of Crime Detection Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya. This was allegedly done by Sibiya on Mchunu’s instruction to disband the task team. Mkhwanazi further alleged that the team was disbanded as it had uncovered the crime syndicate responsible for the aforementioned political killings.
Mkhwanazi also detailed Mchunu’s ties to Oupa Brown Mogotsi, a North West businessman under fire for interference with police matters. Mkhwanazi claims that Mchunu denied knowing Mogostsi in Parliament. However, a telephonic conversation posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) confirms that Magotsi was “his comrade from the North West Province”.
Finally, Mkhwanazi alleged that evidence of communication between Mogotsi and Mchunu can also be found on the cell phone of criminally accused businessman Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the establishment of the Commission on 13 July 2025, with hearings beginning in September 2025.
Mkhwanazi’s Allegations
During the hearings, Mkhwanazi further elaborated on his previous allegations, explaining that an organised criminal syndicate had infiltrated SAPS, the National Prosecuting Authority, the Judiciary, multiple metro police departments, and the Department of Correctional Services. Additionally, he provided further details regarding the aforementioned unmasked crime syndicate, saying that the organisation involves politicians, law enforcement officials from SAPS, metro police, correctional services, prosecutors, the judiciary, and businessmen.
Following Mkhwanazi’s testimony, Lieutenant General Masemola provided evidence regarding the instruction to disband the task team, ultimately corroborating Mkhwanazi’s claims. This elevated many of Mkhwanazi’s accusations to accepted fact among police leadership.
“The Big Five” Cartel
Testimony from former Crime Intelligence Boss Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo revealed that a drug trafficking cartel with international links had infiltrated the South African political sphere. Known as the “Big Five”, they were allegedly involved with tender fraud, extortion, kidnappings, and contract killings. Khumalo further said that the cartel had gained control of several key elements within the criminal justice system, aiming to secure allies among powerful judicial and law enforcement officials, as well as political figures at high levels. The cartel does this to sustain its illegal operations, manipulate investigations, suppress evidence, and obstruct legal proceedings that threatened its operations. Khumalo named several individuals linked to the cartel, illustrating the Big Five’s connections within the police ministry, high level SAPS offices, and private businesses and security companies. Additionally, the former intelligence boss alleged that Mchunu’s decision to disband the PKTT was influenced by crime suspects who feared that the team was investigating them.
Khumalo provided that the cartel consisted of five key individuals, but only two of them were named – South African tender tycoon Matlala and South African businessman Katiso “KT” Molefe. Additionally, Khumalo revealed communications between Matlala and several high-profile individuals, many of which had links to high-ranking SAPS officials.
Khumalo further explained how the cartel operates, providing that the syndicate had headquarters in Gauteng, with operations also taking place in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, as well as KwaZulu-Natal. The latter two locations were their key regions because of their ports and harbours that were presumably used for transporting drugs via nautical routes. Khumalo also detailed that cartel members would receive regular incomes for financial stability.
In terms of recruitment, Khumalo detailed that officials within the criminal justice system are recruited at entry level, acting as links between the cartel and the organisations they work for. He further explained that a secondary step is for members to register a business, often in the form of a security company because they can provide access to firearms. Finally, the Lieutenant provided that individuals with dual citizenship were sought out for recruitment as they could easily move across borders for trafficking purposes.
Vusimuzi “Cat” Matalala’s Contacts
The Commission placed a large emphasis on WhatsApp messages between Matlala and KwaZulu-Natal Hawks Head Major General Lesetja Senona. The Hawks are a branch of SAPS that are responsible for investigating organised crime, economic crime, and corruption. The messages reveal discussions between Matlala and Senona in which they facilitate a property deal for Senona’s son.
Other WhatsApp messages revealed discussions between Matlala and Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) Deputy Police Chief Julius Mkhwanazi. The conversations detail Matlala contacting Mkhwanazi for assistance in a situation in which his driver was arrested for speeding. Mkhwanazi responded, providing that the driver had been released on bail and will only pay a fine. Senona had also been accused of leaking confidential information to Matlala.
Political Killings
In December 2025, Marius van der Merwe, a private security employee known by the Commission as “Witness D”, was shot and killed outside of his home in Brakpan. Van der Merwe’s testimony provided a detailed account of a murder cover-up involving Mkhwanazi and late police informant and whistleblower Jaco Hanekom. He explained that during an operation to arrest a suspect involved in the robbery of a warehouse, the suspect in question had attempted to bribe officers at the scene with R500 000 in cash located within his home. Van der Merwe detailed that at this point, the attempt to recover the stolen property turned into a robbery. He then detailed that the suspect was tortured and suffocated by a plastic bag until he eventually died. Mkhwanazi supposedly arrived in the early hours of the next morning and indirectly instructed Van der Merwe to dispose of the body. Van der Merwe complied, fearing that he would be harmed if he failed to do so.
The body of the suspect was found by police soon after. Following this, Van der Merwe detailed being called into a meeting with the officers and officials involved where Hanekom assured everyone that Mkhwanazi would cover them. Mkhwanazi gave his own version of the supposed murder cover-up to the Commission, providing that he was present at the house where the crime allegedly took place. However, he denied the harrowing details of Van der Merwe’s testimony.
Hanekom was killed in 2023 after obtaining CCTV footage of EMPD officers allegedly conducting an unauthorised operation at a workshop outside the municipality’s lawful policing area. Hanekom detailed that Mkhwanazi was also present at the scene. The footage was submitted to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) for investigation and was later viewed by the Commission.
Recent Developments
In June 2026, uMkhonto weSizwe Party MP Crossby Vusi Shongwe testified that associates of Gauteng Crime Intelligence Head Major-General Feroz Khan allegedly offered him R10 million in cash, a BMW, a monthly R2 million security contract linked with Checkers, and other undefined rewards in an attempt to discourage him from materialising allegations against the Major-General. The associates also claimed to have information on Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
In July 2026, the Commission saw evidence detailing that Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) Head Andrea Johnson allegedly directed the contents of a confidential criminal complaint to the accused individual – Major-General Khan. This allegedly took place during her tenure as a senior prosecutor at the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) while Khan was the Head of Operational Intelligence Support at Crime Intelligence. The complaint was made by Brigadier Lenora Phetle who claims that Khan assaulted and intimidated her during an altercation at Crime Intelligence Headquarters back in 2018. A Crime Intelligence Officer testifying as Witness O provided evidence that Khan had access to Phetlhe’s complaint prior to submitting his own warning statement, bringing Khan’s version of the events into question.
As per President Ramaphosa, the final report deadline for the Commission had been extended to 16 November 2026 as opposed to the previous deadline of 31 August 2026. The deadline for evidence submission is 2 October 2026.
The Madlanga Commission marks a step in the right direction for the dissolution of corruption and collusion within South Africa. However, it also brings cause for great concern as it exposes how deeply rooted criminality is within the country, with the criminal justice system almost completely infested with perpetrators of organised crime and their beneficiaries. Will Mkhwanazi’s crusade mark a turning point in the dissolution of corruption within the country or will this shape up to be one battle won in a losing war?
