The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry descended into crisis this week as its chairperson announced a criminal investigation over a witness identity leak, while the outgoing head of an elite anti-corruption unit made a series of damaging concessions about unlawful investigations.

Retired Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga announced on Monday that the commission has referred an individual to law enforcement authorities for criminal investigation and potential prosecution following the deliberate exposure of a protected witness’s identity. The chairperson described the leak as a serious criminal offence intended to undermine the inquiry’s work.

“This appears to be a deliberate act to prejudice the business of this commission,” Justice Madlanga told the hearing on 27 July.

The announcement comes just 10 days after Witness K, a Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) inspector who testified about the alleged theft of precious stones worth R14.9 million, was arrested in connection with the same heist. The witness had previously applied for in-camera testimony, warning that their identity had already been partially compromised.

The commission, which is investigating criminal infiltration of law enforcement, intelligence agencies, prosecution authorities, and the judiciary, has faced severe security challenges since its establishment. Earlier in the proceedings, a key witness known as Witness D (Marius van der Merwe) was assassinated outside his home in Brakpan shortly after delivering testimony.

Andrea Johnson’s week of reckoning

The week’s most explosive testimony came from Advocate Andrea Johnson, the outgoing head of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC), who spent three days being grilled about her unit’s conduct before submitting her resignation, which President Cyril Ramaphosa accepted with immediate effect.

Johnson conceded on 23 July that IDAC had no legal mandate to investigate Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo based on the information initially available. She admitted to incorrectly applying legal tests when assessing a Section 27 affidavit and acknowledged that IDAC was not authorised to solicit public complaints. Following these admissions and disclosures during cross-examination, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) officially withdrew all fraud and corruption charges against Khumalo and his co-accused on 27 July.

The former IDAC boss apologised for describing the appointment of Crime Intelligence Brigadier Dineo Mokwele as “token” and formally withdrew the remark under cross-examination.

In perhaps her most damaging admission, Johnson accepted that she had abused the legal process when securing urgent warrants of arrest for suspects, including Lieutenant-General Khumalo. She conceded that “least intrusive means” should have been used instead.

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Johnson also admitted that IDAC exceeded its legal mandate by authorising an investigation into the SAPS Political Killings Task Team, though she maintained there was no ulterior motive.

Throughout the proceedings, commissioners challenged inconsistencies in her testimony and questioned her recall of key events. Johnson invoked her constitutional right against self-incrimination regarding allegations that she disclosed a confidential criminal docket in 2018 to Major-General Feroz Khan, who was under investigation at the time. Further controversy emerged when IDAC prosecutor Drushantha Ramsamy produced a secret cellphone recording in which Johnson allegedly advised her to leave the country if summoned by the commission.

When pressed about who was directing certain investigations, Johnson struggled to explain the source of specific directives or the reasoning behind investigative actions, raising questions about “hidden hands” potentially manipulating her unit’s work.

Her testimony concluded on Wednesday, 29 July. While the inquiry was originally scheduled to conclude in August, President Ramaphosa has granted an extension, moving the commission’s final reporting deadline to 16 November.

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