Advocate Andrea Johnson, head of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption, testifies at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry in Pretoria on 21 July 2026. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla) Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) boss Andrea Johnson told the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Tuesday, 21 July 2026, that her boss was deciding whether to prosecute her over accusations relating to embattled Crime Intelligence officer Feroz Khan.
She said allegations involving her and Khan — that she leaked information to him —were “in a docket” that was with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), under which Idac falls.
The NPA is now considering whether Johnson should be prosecuted.
The Office of the Idac Oversight Judge confirmed on Tuesday that it had received complaints against Johnson and that these were “receiving attention.”
/file/attachments/orphans/Madlanga16_119357.jpg "Advocate Andrea Johnson, head of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac), testifies before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry in Pretoria on 21 July 2026. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)")
This means that Johnson, the head of the anti-corruption directorate, is facing potential prosecution or other action over the same type of allegations and complaints that the directorate investigates.
Even if the NPA decides not to prosecute her, the scandal has already raised several questions about her actions and integrity.
The Madlanga Commission is investigating accusations including that a drug cartel has infiltrated law enforcement, politics and private security.
Johnson was to testify before the commission last week, but was booked off sick on the day she was set to take the witness stand.
‘Very affable’ Khan and the criminal complaint
On Tuesday, she distanced herself from Khan, saying that she had not been in contact with him for about one-and-a-half years.
Johnson told the commission that through work, “I had gotten to know him quite well.”
“He was very affable,” she said.
Several years ago, Johnson had also been to Khan’s 50th birthday celebration because her husband, a Crime Intelligence officer like Khan, had been invited.
Johnson previously told a parliamentary hearing running parallel to the Madlanga Commission that she and her husband never discussed their work.
/file/attachments/orphans/ED_608571_696778.jpg "Senior Crime Intelligence officer Feroz Khan appears in the Kempton Park Magistrates’ Court on 11 May 2026. He faces charges in an illicit precious metals case. (Photo: Gallo Images / OJ Koloti)")
A key allegation that recently emerged from the Madlanga Commission is that Johnson leaked to Khan the contents of a criminal complaint against him. A fellow police officer, Brigadier Lenora Phetlhe, lodged the complaint, alleging that Khan assaulted and intimidated her during a June 2018 altercation at the Crime Intelligence headquarters.
Khan faces various other accusations and is yet to testify before the commission after he was wounded in a shooting at the end of last month.
Feroz Khan and Crime Intelligence
Feroz Khan is attached to the South African Police Service’s tumultuous Crime Intelligence unit, which has been consistently dogged by allegations and suspicions of corruption and the looting of the unit’s secret fund. KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who initially levelled the accusations of drug cartel infiltration that gave rise to the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, does not appear to see eye to eye with Khan. In the broader drug cartel infiltration scandal, it has become clear that there is distrust among Crime Intelligence officers, as well as among various policing units.
Previous witnesses at the Madlanga Commission, including retired Hawks Colonel Kobus Roelofse and Captain Mark McLean, had testified about the alleged leaking of the criminal complaint from Johnson to Khan.
During Tuesday’s proceedings, Johnson acknowledged the NPA was deciding on whether to prosecute her in relation to what that testimony covered.
“This […] was confirmed by the NPA on 10 July 2026,” Johnson said.
She added that Captain McLean had previously confirmed the same matter.
‘Right not to incriminate myself’
“Now that the matter is before the NPA on the basis set out above, for a decision on whether I should, or not, be prosecuted, various consequences emerge,” Johnson said.
“One of those consequences [is] that of the need for me to have my rights protected.
“Thus, when I testify on those matters, should I be called upon to, I will exercise my right not to incriminate myself under [a section of] the Constitution [… read with a section of the Commissions Act…].
“These instruments guarantee my right against self-incrimination.”
[JUST] Andrea Johnson, IDAC Head, has invoked her right against self-incrimination at the #MadlangaCommission.
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) July 21, 2026
Johnson said she cannot answer questions relating to allegations she leaked police dockets to Crime Intelligence Deputy Head, Feroz Khan. TCG pic.twitter.com/xGuG7Vz3Vx
This ultimately meant Johnson would choose which questions to answer before the Madlanga Commission on the Khan accusations, relating to the alleged leaking of the criminal complaint.
Earlier during the proceedings, Johnson denied she was part of a so-called “Khan-Idac cabal.”
The suggestion that such a cabal exists has emerged from accusations in the broader law enforcement scandal that Idac was aligned with or protecting Khan and other individuals.
Murray murders
Johnson said on Tuesday that she knew Khan “as a general based at Crime Intelligence head office”.
Before she took up her position at the Investigating Directorate, which became the permanent directorate known as Idac, she had “engaged with him” during work meetings, including policing ones.
News24 has reported that Khan’s business associates had ties to people whose names cropped up in connection with the case of Thomas and Cloete Murray, the father and son liquidators who were murdered in Gauteng in March 2023.
During Tuesday’s Madlanga Commission proceedings, Johnson said that in late 2024, she noted media reports about Khan’s alleged business associates allegedly linked to the Murray murders.
“Those reports concerned me because I had previously met with one of the Murray sons, who wanted to know whether Idac could assist with the investigation,” she said.
“I informed him that Idac could not assist, but explained how he could escalate his concerns about the investigation to SAPS management.”
Johnson later encountered Khan at a workshop.
“I asked to speak to him and told him that the media reports about his alleged involvement with persons linked to the Murray murders were concerning,” she said.
“I further stated that, if evidence of criminality by him were brought to Idac, it would be dealt with in accordance with the law.”
‘State Capture’
Earlier during Tuesday’s proceedings, the focus was on other accusations against Johnson and Idac.
These related to what KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi had alleged — that an element in Idac was operating outside of its mandate.
Other suspicions were that Idac was targeting certain Crime Intelligence members (not aligned with Khan).
Last year, Idac carried out the arrests of Crime Intelligence officers, including the unit’s head at the time, Dumisani Khumalo, over an allegedly irregular appointment.
Those officers denied wrongdoing. Some of their colleagues, including Mkhwanazi, were of the view that the case against them had been crafted to impede investigations into certain criminals.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/ED_576045-1.jpg "Former Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo. (Photo: Gallo Images / Frennie Shivambu)")
The Idac investigation into Khumalo was based on complaints referred to it by National Coloured Congress leader Fadiel Adams.
This was among the issues that also sparked accusations of political interference.
The two main narratives about Idac:
Idac falls under the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), and two theories about it have emerged through the law enforcement scandal.
1. It is maliciously targeting Crime Intelligence officers going after key crooks to protect those crooks. In 2025, Idac carried out the arrests of Crime Intelligence officers, including the unit’s head at the time, Dumisani Khumalo. Some police officers believe this case was orchestrated to hinder Khumalo’s investigations into certain criminals.
2. It is being targeted by state figures hellbent on concealing Crime Intelligence slush fund looting.
Johnson told the Madlanga Commission on Tuesday that Idac investigated and pursued the complaints because there had been legitimate grounds.
“That is what Idac, upon looking at all the matters, holistically, established,” she said.
“However, if one looks at an individual case, this bigger and clearer picture does not emerge. When looked at holistically, the cases depict State Capture, fraud, corruption and defeating the ends of justice.”
Johnson is expected to continue testifying on Wednesday. DM
What next?
More witnesses are expected to testify before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, which aims to wrap up its hearings by early October 2026. It will then complete a report on the hearings, which will be presented to President Cyril Ramaphosa.