Madlanga commission fallout widens as suspensions, arrests and assassinations mount

Multiple high‑profile suspensions, criminal charges and targeted killings have followed the explosive press briefing by KwaZulu‑Natal police commissioner Lieutenant‑General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi a year ago, a chain of events that prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to establish the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.

Who has been implicated

The list of officials and figures implicated in connection with corruption and related crimes has grown over the past year. High‑profile names cited in connection with the commission include:

• Senzo Mchunu, suspended minister of police
• General Fannie Masemola, suspended and charged national police commissioner
• Lieutenant‑General Shadrack Sibiya, suspended as deputy national commissioner: crime detection
• Gareth Mnisi, suspended chief financial officer of the City of Tshwane and facing a disciplinary hearing

Other people and cases linked to allegations aired in the commission include: taxi boss Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni; Matipandile Sotheni, a former Special Task Force member charged with the premeditated murder of Witness D, Marius van der Merwe; Ebrahim Kadwa, head of the Gauteng Hawks; and Major‑General Feroz Khan, a senior crime intelligence officer who was shot recently.

Broader list of named officers

The commission’s material also fingered other senior police figures and officials, among them Major‑Generals Lesetja Senona and Richard Shibiri; Busisiwe Temba (head of Saps Employee Health and Wellness); Lieutenant‑General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela; brigadiers Mbangwa Abraham Nkhwashu, Rachel Matjeng, Alpheus Thembinkosi Ngema, Patrick Nethengwe, Kirsty Jonker, Petunia Lenono and Onica Ofentse Tlhoale; colonels Nonjabulo Nomfundo Mngadi, Anton Paulsen and Natsenge Johannes Monyai; Captain Brian Neville Cartwright; Sergeant Fannie Nkosi; Julius Mkhwanazi; and Kemi Behari.

Experts assess the commission’s impact

Political lecturer Benjamin Rapanyane said the commission has produced high‑level suspensions and arrests of key senior political officials and exposed links between corruption, intelligence bosses and organised crime.

“It has also exposed tender fraud, including a multimillion‑rand police health care tender that was awarded to [tenderpreneur] Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala.”

University of Limpopo criminology head Witness Maluleke described Mkhwanazi as a well‑deserved hero for laying a foundation for the commission’s work and alleging collusion between senior Saps officials and politicians. Maluleke said Mkhwanazi revealed that the disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team was unlawful and that organised crime groups were embedded in police operations and other state institutions.

“He definitely laid a foundation for the works of the Madlanga commission… He implicated Saps senior officials of criminality, corruption and colluding with politicians; he highlighted the hidden power dynamics in the service.”

Political analyst Rene Oosthuizen said the commission has vindicated Mkhwanazi by showing his allegations warrant serious investigation, but cautioned that the real test will be whether findings lead to prosecutions and institutional reform.

“However, the real test is still to come. The commission will only be judged a success if its findings lead to prosecutions, institutional reform, real accountability and not just another report as we have seen with previous commissions.”

Criminal law expert Cornelia van Graan said the arrests and revelations marked a turning point, but stressed that the country must wait to see whether the spectacular arrests translate into lasting change.

“A year ago we were all listening in awe to many testimonies. We watched as prominent officials were arrested. But now we wait for these spectacular arrests to result in real change.”

What’s next

The Madlanga Commission’s recent work has expanded the list of those suspended, charged or under investigation. Observers quoted in the commission’s coverage say that the measure of success will be prosecutions, institutional reform and sustained accountability rather than only headline arrests.