Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo was not arrested because of his role in the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), the head of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac), Andrea Johnson, has told the Madlanga Commission

Khumalo was arrested in October 2025 on charges linked to the alleged illegal appointment of Brigadier Dineo Mokwele to the Technical Support Services division, two months before the task team was disbanded in December 2025. Khumalo was the project coordinator of the PKTT.

"I would be remiss if I did not dismiss the suggestion that Lieutenant-General Khumalo was arrested because he was the coordinator of the Political Killings Task Team," Johnson said.

She described the claim as false, saying Khumalo was arrested on allegations of fraud and corruption arising from irregular appointments in Crime Intelligence.

"At no stage was I, as head of Idac, aware that Lieutenant-General Khumalo had anything to do with the PKTT, let alone being the coordinator," she said.

The PKTT was disbanded by suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu, who has argued that the unit had fulfilled its mandate.

Mchunu has also been implicated in Khumalo’s arrest after his office requested a progress report from Idac on the investigation against Khumalo in November 2025, a month before the disbandment.

KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has alleged that the task team was disbanded because it was closing in on criminal syndicates. He has accused Johnson of running a rogue unit in Idac and recently described Khumalo's suspended arrest before the 30 June anti-immigration protests as part of a "war" in the South African Police Service (SAPS).

Johnson said she had first become aware of the allegations against Khumalo through a referral from National Coloured Congress MP Fadiel Adams. Idac senior investigator Brian Padayachee told the commission Adams opened a case against Khumalo at six police stations in the Western Cape and Gauteng. Afterwards he sent an email to Mchunu requesting a progress report.

Adams was arrested in May on charges of fraud and defeating the ends of justice in connection with alleged interference in the investigation into the 2017 murder of ANC councillor Sindiso Magaqa. Magaqa's killing led to President Cyril Ramaphosa establishing the PKTT.

Johnson also rejected Mkhwanazi's allegation that Idac had sought to involve itself in investigations into criminal syndicates operating in Gauteng.

She said Idac's interest in alleged crime kingpin Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala related solely to allegations that SAPS officials colluded in the awarding of the controversial R360 million Medicare24 contract.

"With regard to Vusimuzi Cat Matlala, Idac's only interest arose out of a section 27 referral from SAPS regarding the unlawful awarding of a tender to his company, Medicare24, and allegations of collusion and corruption involving Matlala and SAPS officials," Johnson said.

She said Idac obtained cyber search warrants for Matlala's electronic devices and that Khumalo presented the devices to investigators.

"The data was downloaded in his presence and he left with the devices."

Johnson said the charges against Khumalo related to the alleged manipulation of recruitment processes and the appointment of individuals who did not have the required qualifications or experience to senior strategic positions in Crime Intelligence.

"The appointment of persons not suitably qualified and/or experienced served as a form of gratification for their collusion in the later looting of state funds, including through the purchase of properties," she said.

The appointments had enabled Khumalo and his co-accused to gain strategic access to funds from the Secret Service Account while bypassing established controls and procedures, she said. "Their appointments would not prevent them from carrying out unlawful activities."

Johnson said investigators uncovered additional allegedly irregular appointments after Adams's complaint about Mokwele's appointment.

She said she had recused herself from the Khumalo investigation on 18 June after Mkhwanazi had made several allegations against her.

Johnson said that after Khumalo’s arrest, her life had been threatened.

“In my long career as a prosecutor this is the first time I received a death threat. The NPA [National Prosecuting Authority] has put several measures in place to secure myself and other colleagues," she said.