Idac charged Khumalo on sparse facts

17 JUL 2026, 00:20

6 min read

Crime Intelligence head Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo was arrested and charged with fraud and corruption in June 2024 after complaints that contained limited factual detail and required further investigation to substantiate, the Madlanga Commission has heard.

Khumalo was first arrested on 26 June 2025 and released on R10 000 bail for the disputed appointment of Brigadier Dineo Mokwele as head of Technical Support Services (TSS) in Crime Intelligence.

The Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) postponed Khumalo's arrest before the nationwide anti-immigration protests planned for 30 June, citing the key role he played in the national security cluster.

National Coloured Congress MP Fadiel Adams was the first to accuse Khumalo in October 2024 after he had opened several criminal dockets in Cape Town and Orlando, Gauteng in October 2024.He alleged that Khumalo committed corruption, fraud, nepotism and abuse of state resources in Crime Intelligence.

Brian Padayachee, a senior investigator at Idac, told the commission that the decision to investigate the allegations against Khumalo had been taken by an internal case evaluation committee before the matter was assigned to investigators.

"There were people at management level, legal minds, who made the decision that the investigation should be authorised.As a result of that authorisation, we have the preliminary investigation which comes down to our level; we [were] authorised to investigate," Padayachee said.

KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, a known ally of Khumalo, described the arrest as a "war" in the South African Police Service.He accused Idac head Andrea Johnson of running a "rogue unit".

Johnson has dismissed Mkhwanazi's statements as reckless and irresponsible, adding that they put her staff at risk.Johnson submitted a sick note to the commission ahead of her scheduled testimony on 13 July.

Padayachee said he had been briefed in December 2024 by an Idac senior investigator to investigate allegations of fraud linked to Mokwele's appointment.However, he said the investigators did not make prosecutorial decisions.

Commissioners questioned the legal basis of the case against Khumalo, Mokwele and other senior Crime Intelligence officials.Padayachee conceded that investigators believed Mokwele's appointment constituted "undue gratification" because it allegedly positioned her to perform unlawful acts in future as a quid pro quo with Khumalo.

Mokwele, a civilian with a background in mechatronics at BMW SA, was appointed to lead technical support in Crime Intelligence.She is charged alongside Khumalo and several co-accused over the appointment.

The commission repeatedly pressed Padayachee on why the matter had been treated as a criminal fraud and corruption case rather than an internal human resources dispute.Padayachee maintained that he had been tasked to investigate and had not been involved in the decision.

In his affidavit, Adams said he had received anonymous information in early October 2024, alleging fraud and corruption in Crime Intelligence.

"Lieutenant-General Khumalo is also practising nepotism at Crime Intelligence, which has compromised the security of the state," Adams said in his affidavit."The allegations related to high-ranking police officials being involved in manipulating promotional and security vetting processes to unduly benefit a civilian person who worked for BMW South Africa before being appointed as a brigadier in Crime Intelligence," Adams said.

He alleged that Mokwele lacked the necessary experience and management credentials for the post and that her appointment formed part of a broader pattern of nepotism in the division.

Evidence leader Mahlape Sello argued that Adams's affidavit contained allegations but little to back them.

"There are no facts to support the allegations," Sello said.

"The who's and the how's are missing," Padayachee said, adding that the allegations required a preliminary investigation.

Adams also accused Khumalo of abusing the Secret Service Account.He alleged that funds intended for registered intelligence sources had been diverted to the Political Killings Task Team, which he described as a structure created for the benefit of former police minister Bheki Cele.He further claimed that vehicles and property had been purchased for the Political Killings Task Team and that Mokwele's appointment formed part of the alleged patronage network.

After opening his case at several police stations, Adams sent an email to suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu for a follow-up.Mchunu's chief of staff, Cedrick Nkabinde, requested progress reports on the dockets opened by Adams from the police inspectorate.

Commissioner Sandile Khumalo questioned how investigators had come to focus on Mokwele's appointment when the original complaints appeared to concern broader allegations of nepotism and corruption in Crime Intelligence.

Mkhwanazi previously submitted to the commission an internal report compiled by police inspector Peter Jacobs which found little basis for the charges against Khumalo.The report documented events after the opening of Adams's dockets and rejected claims of nepotism and that the provincial police management had interfered in investigations.It also highlighted the lack of specific information contained in the complaints.

"No details are provided regarding the identity of the friends and family members of Lt Gen Khumalo who were allegedly appointed in the division. This would at least have enabled an investigation into the allegation," the report stated.

In response to Mchunu's follow-up request, the inspectorate noted that, despite repeated requests, Adams had failed to meet the inspectorate to provide a supporting affidavit.

"Due to the sensitive nature of the allegations which have been widely announced by the complainant, it is important that before any criminal investigation is launched, your office pursues the affidavits to provide a legal opinion on whether the elements of a crime exist and advise on the way forward," the report said.

Sello told the commission that the inspectorate was attempting to verify the allegations and determine whether any criminal conduct had occurred when Adams had referred the matter to Idac.

"The inspectorate expresses a view that the dockets are basic and, in their opinion, lack the elements of a crime, but directs all the dockets to legal services for opinion," she said.

Commissioners noted that Adams's referral to Idac occurred on the same day that Nkabinde requested an update on the investigations.On 6 December 2024, Idac authorised a preliminary investigation and Padayachee's team was formally briefed on the complaint.The investigation ultimately led to charges being brought against Khumalo, Mokwele and several other senior Crime Intelligence officials.

Sello highlighted how Adams' complaint was logged before Mokwele's appointment even though the subsequent investigation centred on Mokwele's alleged irregular appointment.

"Remember they were opened in October 2024 and there's one about nepotism and they relate to other colonels in Crime Intelligence. That's what the complaint is about in the dockets. But there was no case opened either in Cape Town or Orlando of corruption and fraud relating to the appointment of Brigadier Mokwele," he said.

Padayachee responded that the dockets did not identify specific individuals but referred generally to nepotism in Crime Intelligence.