Illustrative image: Advocate Mahlape Sello. (Photo: Gallo Images / Lefty Shivambu) | Advocate Sesi Baloyi. (Photo: Gallo Images / Frennie Shivambu) | NCC Leader Fadiel Adams. (Photo: Gallo Images / Darren Stewart) | Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo. (Photo: Gallo Images / Frennie Shivambu) | Idac Head Andrea Johnson. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach) | Sandile Khumalo. (Photo: Gallo Images / Frennie Shivambu) | Fannie Masemola. (Photo: Gallo Images / Frennie Shivambu) The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has withdrawn the fraud and corruption charges against former Crime Intelligence boss Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo and other co-accused regarding the alleged irregular appointment of Brigadier Dineo Mokwele.
This announcement came after another gruelling day for former Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) leader Andrea Johnson at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Monday, 27 July 2026.
On Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa agreed that Johnson could vacate her post with immediate effect after she requested that her three-month notice period be waived.
Idac’s June 2025 arrest of Khumalo and other Crime Intelligence officials is believed to have sparked KwaZulu-Natal police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s explosive July 2025 press conference, alleging that criminal cartels had infiltrated law enforcement, judicial and political arenas.
Mkhwanazi claimed Khumalo, as the head of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), was being targeted to protect the corrupt from investigation. Johnson’s testimony before the Madlanga Commission over the past week has highlighted serious flaws in the process that led to the arrest of the Crime Intelligence officials.
Khumalo and six colleagues were arrested in relation to the appointment of Brigadier Dineo Mokwele, whom it was claimed lacked qualifications for the post and was part of a plot to capture the controversial policing unit. The Madlanga Commission, however, has heard that she was apparently qualified for the post and that the process that led to the charges being laid against some of South Africa’s top intelligence officials was seriously flawed.
NPA spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago confirmed the withdrawal of the charges against the Crime Intelligence officials after representations from their lawyer and a review of the case.
Johnson in the hot seat
Despite her resignation as Idac head, Johnson continues to face questions at the Madlanga Commission.
She has admitted to serious flaws in the process of charging the Crime Intelligence leaders.
On Monday, 27 July, Johnson faced extensive scrutiny over the key document that led to charges being laid against the Crime Intelligence officials, with commission leaders questioning whether it may have been fraudulent.
According to Idac, National Coloured Congress leader and Member of Parliament Fadiel Adams kicked off the investigation into the Crime Intelligence members when he filed a Section 27 affidavit outlining the allegations against Khumalo and the other officials.
That affidavit came under intense scrutiny before the commission on Monday, with evidence leader Advocate Mahlape Sello SC raising the possibility that the version before the commission was not the original, and questioning whether the commission was dealing with a fraudulent document.
The dispute centred on Idac chief investigating officer Dylan Perumal, who was absent from Monday’s proceedings due to illness.
Perumal, together with fellow investigator and prosecutor Tyron Ramsamy, was involved in taking the affidavit on 6 January 2025.
It is alleged that Perumal allegedly later took a separate affidavit without the knowledge of the prosecutor and Idac. Evidence leader Sello said: “Where that potentially lands me, are we confronted with a fraudulent Section 27? If not, how do we potentially explain these discrepancies?
Conflicting versions
Sello argued that there were conflicting versions of events between Adams’ affidavit and the evidence expected from the investigators who compiled it.
Johnson submitted that if the Section 27 affidavit currently before the commission was accepted as authentic, it would make little sense for Perumal to have later taken a supplementary affidavit dealing extensively with the PKTT.
“If one reads the Section 27 affidavit as it stands,” Sello said, “then it would be [little] short of lunacy for investigators Ramsamy, the other investigating officer, and Perumal collectively to take a statement regarding the PKTT and call it a supplementary affidavit.”
Sello pointed to what she described as irreconcilable contradictions in the investigators’ own evidence.
Three investigators were expected to testify that they jointly interviewed Adams before the supplementary affidavits were prepared. Yet other statements appeared to have been taken by a single investigator, creating further uncertainty about the sequence of events.
While more evidence will be presented to the Madlanga Commission, particularly on the role Idac’s investigators played in charging the Crime Intelligence officials, Johnson’s admissions and the withdrawal of charges is a significant blow to Idac – and an apparent vindication of Mkhwanazi’s July 2026 claims.
Andrea Johnson’s evidence is due to resume on Monday, 3 August 2026, after the commission stood her down following the extensive disputes over the Section 27 affidavits and related Idac investigations. DM