An alleged drug cartel and a murdered witness

South Africans have long suspected corruption and political interference in the police force, but allegations emerging from two public inquiries in the past few months appear to confirm this.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is currently digesting the contents of an interim report from the commission he set up to investigate irregularities within the police.

The group was formed after senior police officer Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi accused organized crime gangs in July of infiltrating the government.

His dramatic intervention resulted in Police Minister Senzo Mchunu being placed on special leave.

KwaZulu-Natal police chief Lieutenant-General Mkhwanazi claimed Mchunu had links to crime bosses and that was why he closed an elite unit investigating political murders.

Mchunu, a senior member of Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) and a close ally of the president, has denied any wrongdoing.

But to investigate the allegations, Ramaphosa asked retired Constitutional Court judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga to lead a public inquiry. Cape Town Council set up its own panel to investigate the matter.

“The way I see it now, this is terrorism,” General Mkhwanazi said when he appeared as the first witness before the Madranga Commission in September.

These people “want to take over the government, not through votes, but through these criminal activities.”

In three months of testimony from parallel investigations, South Africans heard about a drug cartel with alleged political connections and a businessman awaiting trial for attempted murder with alleged links to government figures. A witness to the Madranga Commission was also murdered after giving evidence.

Here’s what we’ve learned so far:

One of the most explosive pieces of evidence was the testimony of Lieutenant General Dumisani Kumalo, head of the police criminal intelligence unit.

Lieutenant General Kumalo appeared before the Madlanga Commission within the first month of the hearings, claiming there was a drug cartel led by individuals he called the “Big Five” operating in multiple provinces and “infiltrating the political sphere”.

He named two of the gang’s five alleged leaders, one of whom was controversial businessman Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala.

Mr Matlala currently faces 25 criminal charges, including attempted murder.

These stem from three separate incidents that occurred between 2022 and 2024. He has denied all charges against him.

Crime intelligence chiefs claim the Big Five led a network with widespread reach across the country.

He claimed it was a cartel operating locally and abroad, dealing mainly in drugs but also carrying out contract killings, cross-border hijackings and kidnappings “in connection with the drug trafficking process”.

Lt. Gen. Kumalo added that the cartel has tentacles in the country’s criminal justice system that allow them to “manipulate investigations, suppress evidence (and) obstruct legal processes that threaten their activities.”

It was this group that allegedly supported the disbandment of the Political Killings Task Force (PKTT), which operated primarily in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

Lieutenant General Kumalo told the committee this was because the cartels “erroneously believed PKTT was investigating” them.

“The Big Five have infiltrated the political sphere and there are documented cases of high-profile contacts in the political arena,” the policeman claimed.

Another witness before the Madlanga Commission was a former member of PKTT. The anonymous man – known only as “Witness C” – also referred to what he called the “Big Five” cartel, claiming the group had “complete control and oversight” of every government department.

Central to the allegations against the suspended police minister is his close relationship with “Cat” Matlala.

At Madranga Council, Mkhwanazi reiterated claims he made at a press conference in July that Mchunu received indirect financial support from the businessman to fund his “political endeavours”.

He shared copies of text messages and a payment allegedly made by Matlala to prove this. The payments appear to have been facilitated by a third party.

Mchunu dismissed the accusations during an appearance before the Madlanga Commission, saying he had “never been accused of corruption, not once”.

“This is the first time I’ve been accused of something like this.”

Mr Matlala had a lucrative contract with the police but it was abruptly canceled in May after he was charged with attempted murder.

In 2001, he was convicted and jailed for possessing stolen property.

He was arrested over the years for a range of alleged crimes, including break-ins, cash robberies and assaults, but in all cases he denied involvement and was either acquitted or the charges against him were withdrawn.

Matlala told a parliamentary inquiry that his life changed drastically in 2017 when he “officially registered my first business, a security business”.

He was ankle restraints while giving evidence as he is currently in custody on attempted murder charges. In two days of testimony before MPs, Mr Matlala revealed his relationships with former and current ministers and senior police officials.

As well as being accused of being close to Mchunu, Matlala also has links to others within the police force.

He denied knowing the senior police officers and politicians personally but admitted paying for ANC-related events.

“It is my understanding that the minister (Mchunu) sent (third parties) around to ask for donations and I was one of them,” Mr Matlala told MPs.

He also told a parliamentary panel that former police minister Becky Cele had asked for a “facilitating payment” of 1 million rand ($60,000; £45,000) after authorities returned guns seized from him, but he had only paid half. Mr Matlala claimed Cele also demanded the money to stop police harassment.

Cele, who testified before Mr Matlala before a parliamentary committee, admitted to MPs that he had known Mr Matlala for several months and stayed in his penthouse twice because they were “freebies”.

However, he denied receiving money from Mr Matlala.

Mr Matlala has not yet appeared before the Madranga Commission but is expected to have the opportunity to speak there sometime next year.

However, different witnesses have given different accounts of Mr Matlala’s relationship with the police.

Witness C told the Madranga Commission that Mr Matlala had a “close relationship with senior (police) officials” and detailed the extent of that relationship after police arrested him in May.

Witnesses claim Mr Matelala bankrolled the now-suspended police minister’s presidential ambitions within the ANC, even though he did not believe he would win.

In early December, a witness to the Madlanga Commission was murdered just three weeks after giving evidence.

It is unclear whether the two incidents are related.

Marius van der Merwe, known only as “Witness D” to the court, was killed in full view of his family.

He had just returned home at night and was shot while waiting for the front door to open. No arrests have been made but police have identified three people of interest. The motive for the shooting is unclear.

Mr van der Merwe, a former police officer who ran a private security company, was identified by authorities after his murder.

Appearing before Magistrate Madlanga, he implicated a number of officials, including Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi (no relation to Nhlanhela Mkhwanazi), the acting police commissioner for parts of Johannesburg.

There, he claimed Brigadier General Mkhwanazi ordered him to dispose of the body of a man accused of robbery who was allegedly tortured and killed by police.

In response, Mr Van der Merwe told the committee: “I didn’t really have a chance to agree. I felt like I was being forced.”

In his testimony, Brigadier General Mkhwanazi denied any involvement in the case, including the alleged disposal of the bodies. Instead, he told the committee he was called to a crime scene in the city and spent “two to three minutes” there.

Mr van der Merwe died after giving evidence, sparking outrage across South Africa.

Attacks against whistleblowers have become commonplace in the country, with human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch noting that “many face reprisals, loss of livelihoods, and even lives.”

Authorities revealed Mr van der Merwe refused witness protection after testifying before the committee.

Ramaphosa’s spokesman Vincent Magwenya said Judge Madlanga’s interim report would not be made public because it “does not help start a debate… on something premature”.

The final report is expected to be released next year and “will be made available to the public.”

“However, the commissioner will advise the president on sensitive areas of national security and how they need to be managed,” he added in a briefing with reporters.

The Madlanga Commission works in three stages; the first stage provides witnesses with the opportunity to make accusations.

The second phase, currently underway, will allow people like Mchunu who have been implicated by investigative evidence to respond to the allegations against them.

The final phase will recall witnesses mentioned in the first phase to clarify or supplement their statements.

The Madlanga Commission has six months to complete its work and submit its final report, but this period can be extended at the “decision of the President”, according to its terms of reference. It is unclear how long the parliamentary inquiry will last, but hearings are expected to resume in 2026.

South Africans will now have to wait until sometime next year to read the findings and recommendations of both surveys. The question they ask is whether that will be enough to force the government to address what critics say are problems with the police service.