Africa-Press – South-Africa. Crime intelligence boss Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo is set to testify before the Madlanga commission of inquiry on Monday at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria.
Khumalo is the fifth witness to take the stand and is expected to focus on operational and administrative matters in the SA Police Service (SAPS).
The commission is investigating allegations of criminality, political interference and corruption in the criminal justice system after allegations by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi commenced on September 17.
Mkhwanazi was the first witness to appear before the commission. In his testimony, he reaffirmed his allegiance to Khumalo, who is also the convener of the political killings task team.
Khumalo was arrested by the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) on fraud and corruption charges in June, along with six others, relating to the appointment of an allegedly unqualified civilian, Dineo Mokwele, to a senior post. They are out on bail.
Mkhwanazi attributed his arrest to an attempt to disrupt and weaken the task team to prevent Khumalo from continuing with an investigation into a criminal syndicate involving drug cartels in Gauteng.
“All the efforts we are seeing are a concerted effort to ensure Khumalo and whoever he is working with are frustrated in their work on this [stopping the drug cartel],” he said.
He said former police minister Bheki Cele wanted Khumalo to resign from the SAPS to protect Gen Feroz Khan, who is allegedly linked to figures accused of criminal activities, Brown Mogotsi and Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, from being investigated.
“Cele was asking me to approach Khumalo to resign from SAPS and go work with him in Gauteng for five years. Then, he said, Khumalo could return to the SAPS. It made no sense.”
“When Cele was in SAPS, he didn’t like Khumalo at all. He made everyone at the head office believe Khumalo was a bad person. So why now, suddenly, this trust?”
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