A large number of police officers have been suspended and are facing prosecution after being implicated at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
Image: Independent Media archives
The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into corruption has triggered the suspension of 18 top SAPS officials, including National Police Commission General Fannie Masemola and Deputy National Commissioner Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya.
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu was suspended on July 13, 2025, a day after the commission was established but ongoing testimony has seen serious allegations emerge, exposing the relationships between wealth and power business owners, fixers and in some cases, police generals.
The list also includes four officers from Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) and one from Tswane Metropolitan Police Department (TMPD).
Professor Johan Burger, an independent crime and policing consultant said the large number of suspensions was exposing the relationships and toxic arrangements in the police service.
“It is encouraging that there is action taken on the basis of evidence that came before the commission.
“I am confident that once the commission completes its work and it submits its findings, there will be more criminal investigation and prosecutions,” said Burger.
He said the commission has created an environment that has enabled the exposure of 'rotten apples within the criminal justice system'.
“I am certain that the commission will accomplish its mission if they carry on the way that they are doing,” he said.
Madlanga Commission Madlanga commissioners Adv. Sesi Baloyi SC, retired Judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga and Adv. Sandile Khumalo SC have been commended for their work in exposing wrongdoings in the police force.
Image: Oupa Mokoena / Independent Newspapers
He said the establishment of the special investigations task team was helping the commission to accomplish its mission.
“We must keep in mind that the commission is not a criminal investigating body, but it is a commission of inquiry.
“The task team, which is made up of the Hawks and National Prosecuting Authority, has to do the criminal investigation and then decide whether someone needs to be prosecuted,” said Burger.
The Madlanga Commission was established after a July 6, 2025, press briefing held in Durban in which KwaZulu-Natal police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi shocked the nation by claiming that police at high levels had conspired with criminal syndicates to break the law and undermine the criminal justice system.
A parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee also conducted a separate investigation.
Mkhwanazi accused Mchunu of disbanding the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) on 31 December 2024 without consultation and also of allegedly cooperating with criminal syndicate leaders such as Matlala.
Masemola, Sibiya, KwaZulu-Natal Hawks head, Major-General Lesetja Senona and SAPS Employee Health and Wellness Head, Major-General Busisiwe Temba are facing criminal charges related to a R360 million SAPS health tender awarded to Medicare24 Tshwane District, which is owned by businessman, Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
Other officers suspended and being investigated in connection to the Medicare 24 contract are Captain Brian Neville, Brigadier Rachel Matjeng, Brigadier Alpheus Thembinkosi Ngema, Brigadier Patrick Nethengwe, Brigadier Kirsty Jonker, Brigadier Petunia Reabetsoe Lenono, Brigadier Onica Ofentse Tlhoale, Colonel Nonjabulo Nomfundo Mngadi, Colonel Anton Paulsen and Colonel Natsenge Johannes Monyai.
Sibiya, the head of crime detection, was officially suspended on September 14, 2025, for allegedly obstructing PKTT investigations. He has also been accused of being close to Matlala.
Senona, the KwaZulu-Natal Hawks head, stands accused of being party to the mysterious disappearance of 541kg of cocaine worth R200 million from the Hawks’ Port Shepstone storage facility in 2021.
Testimony at the commission claimed that Major-General Richard Shibiri, head of the SAPS Organised Crime Unit, allegedly tipped off Matlala about a December 6, 2024, police raid.
Burger said it was encouraging that the country was seeing a high number of investigations by the special investigating team and NPA, who are 'prosecuting without waiting for the commission to complete its inquiry and before it can submit its final report to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
However, he expressed sympathy with Masemola, whom he said has not been accused of corruption, but was charged in connection with violating part of the Public Finance Management Act in relation to the Medicare 24 contract.
Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane has replaced Masemola in an acting capacity.
Most recently two high-ranking police officials, Gauteng Hawks head Ebrahim Kadwa, who testified at the commission, and Crime Intelligence Major-General Feroz Khan, were arrested for allegedly dealing in unlawful possession of precious metals.
Mkhwanazi named Khan at the Madlanga commission as a “a political fixer who enjoyed protection from politicians".
National Police Commissioner Brigadier Athlenda Mathe expressed concern about the number of police officers who have been suspended after testimony at the Madlanga Commission.
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The Institute of Security Studies head of justice and violence prevention, Lizette Lancaster, said the commission’s work has revealed serious criminal conduct at the police senior leadership level leading to the arrest and suspension of “more than a dozen generals” and leaving critical units led by acting officials.
She said this has left the police with a leadership vacuum that will, in the short term, weaken operational capacity and strategic direction.
Lancaster noted that even before the Madlanga Commission was established, the institution’s integrity and effectiveness had already been compromised.
“These senior officials protected and enabled criminal networks, manipulated procurement processes, and interfered with investigations.
“This instability and levels of corruption negatively affect staff morale, service delivery and public trust.
“Public trust in the police has been declining for over a decade,” Lancaster said.
She said the suspensions must be followed by convictions after arrests.
“Replacement officials must undergo rigorous vetting, including mandatory lifestyle audits,” she said.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said it was a concern that a number of police officers are currently suspended.
“However, the SAPS is a large establishment with operational measures in place to ensure continuity in policing services, including the appointment of acting personnel where necessary.
“Despite these challenges, police operations across the country continue without interruption.
“Through ongoing high-density operations such as Operation Shanela, the SAPS arrested more than 13,300 suspects in the past week alone and seized 106 illegal and unlicensed firearms.
“These operational successes demonstrate that the fight against crime remains firmly on course,” she said.