General Khumalo Exposes Cartel Links Within SAPS: “Our Own Officers Are Being Recruited as Hitmen”

Inside South Africa’s Law Enforcement Crisis

South Africa’s law enforcement community is reeling after shocking revelations from Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo, head of SAPS Crime Intelligence, who testified before the Madlanga Commission this week. In a testimony that felt more like a crime thriller than a commission hearing, Khumalo laid bare how criminal cartels have managed to infiltrate the police ranks, turning serving officers into hired killers.

According to Khumalo, a current SAPS officer was part of the hit squad that murdered Armand Swart, a crime that stunned the country for its precision and brutality. This revelation, he said, exposes “a deep-seated rot” within the system, one where the lines between law enforcement and organized crime have dangerously blurred.

Cartels Inside the Badge

Khumalo’s testimony painted a chilling picture of South Africa’s criminal underworld: cartels recruiting not just civilians but active officers within SAPS and the broader justice system. These officers, he explained, are not only passing on sensitive intelligence but are also actively carrying out assassinations and sabotaging investigations.

One particularly damning revelation involved a December 6 police operation that was meant to target two high-profile suspects, Molefe and Matlala. According to Khumalo, the mission was sabotaged from within, with information leaked to the suspects by insiders determined to “defeat the ends of justice.”

Internal Betrayal and External Risks

Because of these breaches, Khumalo revealed that external Special Task Force units had to be deployed for sensitive operations, a move that underscores just how compromised internal units have become.

Even more alarming was the mention of a DPCI officer, Captain Zungu, who Khumalo alleged is currently working with one of the cartels. This, he said, reflects a larger pattern of infiltration across multiple branches of the justice system, from crime intelligence to prosecution.

“The threat,” Khumalo warned, “isn’t just outside anymore. It’s among us.”

A System on the Brink

The testimony has ignited debate among South Africans, many of whom took to social media to voice anger and disbelief. On X (formerly Twitter), the hashtag #MadlangaCommission began trending as users called for a complete overhaul of SAPS and harsher penalties for corrupt officers.

For many, Khumalo’s statements confirm what whistleblowers and journalists have long suspected: that organized crime and state corruption are now deeply intertwined.

Analysts say this is one of the most serious credibility crises the SAPS has faced since democracy. “When the protectors become perpetrators,” one commentator wrote, “the whole idea of justice collapses.”

As Khumalo’s testimony continues, the Madlanga Commission is expected to delve deeper into these allegations particularly the role of police insiders in undermining criminal investigations and colluding with cartels.

For a nation already grappling with spiraling crime rates and public distrust in the police, the implications are enormous.

If Khumalo’s claims are substantiated, it won’t just expose corruption it could force a reckoning within SAPS itself, reshaping how South Africa’s law enforcement agencies operate and whom the public can truly trust to protect them.

General Dumisani Khumalo’s explosive testimony before the Madlanga Commission has revealed that criminal cartels are recruiting active SAPS officers as hitmen and leaking intelligence to suspects. His account has sparked nationwide outrage and renewed calls for a total police overhaul.

{Source: IOL}

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