A state advocate has told the Madlanga Commission that former Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) head Andrea Johnson and chief investigator Dylan Perumal orchestrated a plot to target and remove Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola and Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo.

Drushantha Ramsamy, an IDAC state advocate, provided extensive testimony throughout the week at the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System, chaired by retired Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga.

Ramsamy testified about alleged political interference in investigations, specifically detailing attempts to place Masemola in legal jeopardy and questioning the legal basis of the IDAC investigation into Major-General Philani Lushaba.

She also highlighted internal concerns regarding the expansion of the Project Diversion investigation without proper authorisation.

In a significant development on Thursday, 6 August, Matthews Sesoko, IDAC’s head of investigations and operations, challenged claims made by Johnson regarding the status of the IDAC operations manual.

Sesoko stated that the manual was an approved, signed and distributed document, contradicting Johnson’s earlier testimony that it was merely a draft.

The week’s hearings focused on IDAC’s investigations into senior Crime Intelligence officials and subsequent prosecutions.

The commission is scheduled to resume hearings on Tuesday, 11 August. In July, President Cyril Ramaphosa extended the commission’s deadline to 16 November.

The commission continues to investigate allegations of collusion and corruption involving politicians, senior police, prosecutors, intelligence operatives and elements of the judiciary. All allegations presented at the hearings are currently considered untested, and individuals named remain presumed innocent.

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