Senior Crime Intelligence officer Feroz Khan appears at Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on 11 May 2026. (Photo: Gallo Images / OJ Koloti) Suspended Deputy Crime Intelligence head Feroz Khan has abandoned his cases against the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry and the South African Police Service (SAPS) to block access to his electronic devices, and a court order to this effect is expected imminently.
This comes after tense behind-the-scenes negotiations at the weekend when the commission learned that Khan had “secretly” approached the Gauteng High Court in a bid to hold proceedings in camera and to deny public access to any of the inquiry’s affidavits.
On Monday, Khan abandoned this application for proceedings to be held in camera and also his initial urgent application against the Madlanga Commission regarding his devices. He was served immediately with a notice to appear to testify on 1 July.
The commission issued a statement explaining that following a case management meeting before Acting Deputy Judge President Roland Sutherland and Justice Lebogang Modiba, the withdrawal of both Khan’s applications was agreed to and will be embodied in a court order.
The commission undertook to make its affidavits public as soon as this order is issued. The move could enable the specialised investigative team to unlock information regarding alleged criminal infiltration and political interference in SAPS and the criminal justice system.
Khan’s name has cropped up multiple times at the Madlanga Commission, which is investigating claims of criminality, political interference and corruption in the criminal justice system, and has been extended to August 2026.
Lives at risk claim
The senior cop with connections in the tobacco industry and politics initially objected to the handing over of the devices to the commission after his arrest, claiming this had been illegal and could lead to “assassinations”, place lives at risk, or expose intelligence agents and operatives.
Khan has been closely linked to Mohammadh Sayed, co-founder of the tobacco company Carnilinx. In 2023, he was snapped at an Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) fundraiser where a more than R100,000 ticket bought him a place next to Sayed and his associate, alleged cigarette smuggler Adriano Mazzotti.
Sayed purchased the ticket for Khan. Mazzotti and Sayed have repeatedly denied cigarette smuggling allegations.
Mkhwanazi’s allegations
Testifying at the final session of Parliament’s ad-hoc inquiry into police corruption on 17 March, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said Khan should have been called to the ad-hoc inquiry and that his office was “dirty”.
Mkhwanazi also highlighted Khan’s alleged links to “Big Five’ cartel member Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, as well as North West businessman, fixer and alleged police informant Brown Mogotsi. He said Khan’s reach and influence cut across intelligence operations into “external networks” and shaped the conduct of the police.
The OR Tambo pickup
Khan currently faces charges alongside Gauteng Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (DPCI or Hawks) Major-General Ebrahim Kadwa. Both senior officers were arrested for contravening the Precious Metals Act and defeating the ends of justice.
They were picked up after businessman Tariq Downes was busted at OR Tambo International Airport on 5 May 2021 with 75.9 grams of unwrought gold, valued at approximately R62,836 in his possession. He claimed to be an undercover agent. Khan allegedly lied and said Downes was part of an undercover operation.
Soon after his arrest, Khan’s devices were handed to Madlanga Commission investigators. Khan complained that the position adopted by the commission had been “troubling” from the start.
At his bail hearing on 11 May, he noted in an affidavit that three specialised prosecutors had advised his attorney that they were attached to the commission and would have a say with regard to his bail. He accused the Madlanga Commission of being involved “from the day following my arrest”.
Khan, in an attempt to have his devices returned, earlier told the Gauteng Division of the High Court that his application was “urgent in that the devices are in unknown hands, the lives of informants are at risk and the information contained in the devices is classified in nature”.
While Khan claimed those handling the sensitive information on his devices didn’t have the required security clearance, the court heard that the Madlanga investigative team do have high-level clearance, while Khan, in fact, does not.
Cocaine woes
As Caryn Dolley has previously reported, Warrant Officer Steve Phakula, attached to the police’s National Intervention Unit, came under fire at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry for making contradictory statements about Khan’s links to a R286-million cocaine consignment.
During proceedings on 13 May, Phakula claimed that rumours had done the rounds that the cocaine had belonged to a senior Crime Intelligence officer, Major-General Feroz Khan. Khan previously faced internal disciplinary action over his presence at the cocaine interception, but was cleared.
Madlanga arrests
More than a dozen senior SAPS members have been arrested following evidence presented to the commission, led by Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga.
These arrests include National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola and 12 senior SAPS officials who have appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on allegations of corruption linked to a corruption-ridden R360-million Medicare24 contract awarded to Matlala.
Other notable arrests were those of suspended Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi and Ekurhuleni City Manager Kagiso Michael Lerutla.
Suspended Gauteng Organised Crime Unit Sergeant Fannie Nkosi was arrested in April 2026 when a raid on his Pretoria North home uncovered a stun grenade, more than 500 rounds of ammunition, SAPS equipment, stolen dockets and cash hidden under a mattress. He was denied bail and will return to court on 21 May 2026. DM