Idac investigator rejects ‘Khan cabal’ claims at Madlanga commission

Senior Investigative Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) investigator Brian Padayachee denied he is part of an alleged faction within law enforcement, telling the Madlanga commission on 14 July 2026 that he has no knowledge of any such network.

Direct rebuttal of ‘Indian cabal’ allegation

Padayachee appeared before the commission at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria. The allegation stems from evidence by uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party MP Vusi Shongwe, who said Padayachee, Idac head Andrea Johnson, senior investigator Suneel Bellochun and Crime Intelligence official Feroz Khan formed part of an “Indian cabal” within law enforcement structures, including the South African Police Service.

Padayachee dismissed the claim and told the commission:

“If such a cabal exists, I am not a party to it. I have never investigated such because I don’t know of it and neither am I involved in it.”

Relationship with Feroz Khan and state-witness role

Addressing questions about his association with Khan, Padayachee described their relationship as “strictly professional”. He noted they had worked together within Crime Intelligence and said his perception of Khan had changed over time, adding: “The General Khan I knew and worked with during this particular time is the General Khan that I see now with what is [happening] before the commission.”

The commission heard that Khan is currently a state witness in two Idac cases before the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court. Padayachee also rejected claims that he disclosed the contents of a police docket to Khan in a matter where Khan was implicated.

The testimony noted that Khan was hospitalised after being shot on 28 June.

Lead investigator on the Khumalo matter

A substantial part of Padayachee’s evidence related to his role as lead investigator in the corruption case against Crime Intelligence divisional commissioner Dumisani Khumalo and six other police officials, who are out on bail. Padayachee said there was no internal or external “undue pressure” to pursue the investigation and stressed that decisions to prosecute rest with prosecutors, not investigators.

“I investigate matters and have no authority to interfere with prosecutorial decisions,”

Origins of the inquiry and questions over the affidavit

The Khumalo arrests in June 2025 followed allegations over the appointment of Dineo Mokwele to a brigadier-level technical support systems manager position. Padayachee said the probe began after a complaint by National Coloured Congress leader Fadiel Adams, submitted to Idac through a Section 27 referral.

Padayachee clarified that he did not take Adams’ statement and that the affidavit was obtained by Idac investigator Dylan Perumal in Cape Town in January 2025. The document, however, bore a Pretoria stamp, which Padayachee attributed to an administrative practice of carrying stamps while travelling: “Yes, Mr Perumal was physically in Cape Town. Normally, we carry our stamps with us.”

Commission chairperson Mbuyiseli Madlanga challenged that explanation, calling the conduct “usual” and questioning the logic of stamping locations when physically elsewhere.

Legal threshold and competing views

The commission also probed whether the Section 27 referral met the legal threshold for a criminal investigation. Padayachee said the allegations suggested possible fraud and corruption and therefore needed to be verified. Madlanga described the reasoning as a “quantum leap in logic,” noting that some appointments in SAPS occur because of expertise rather than traditional qualifications.

Padayachee acknowledged that Khumalo has argued the matter is a labour dispute and that Khumalo has submitted representations to the office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Andy Mothibi, seeking withdrawal of the charges.