Latest news with #DumisaniKhumalo
The Herald
09-07-2025
- The Herald
Cape Hawks boss named as acting crime intelligence commissioner
Veteran police officer Maj-Gen Solomon Makgato, head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations in the Western Cape, has been seconded to crime intelligence as acting divisional commissioner. This follows the arrest of Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo and six others for alleged corruption. National police boss Gen Fannie Masemola, making the announcement on Wednesday, said the seven senior officers have been temporarily transferred within the organisation pending more information. 'Crime intelligence remains a cornerstone of the SA Police Service (SAPS), essential for proactively identifying criminal networks, preventing organised crime and guiding resource allocation to safeguard national security. Its effectiveness directly impacts the SAPS' ability to combat escalating crime threats. 'Maj-Gen Makgato brings to the position a wealth of experience and knowledge in the intelligence and detective space with 36 years service in the two environments. 'We trust his leadership will enhance efficiency and maintain stability with crime intelligence.' TimesLIVE
Eyewitness News
09-07-2025
- Eyewitness News
WC Hawks boss Solomon Makgato appointed as acting head for SAPS crime intelligence division
JOHANNESBURG - Western Cape Hawks boss Solomon Makgato has been appointed as the acting head of the South African Police Service (SAPS)'s crime intelligence division. His appointment follows the arrest of current divisional commander Dumisani Khumalo. Khumalo, along with six other SAPS members, are facing several fraud and corruption charges for allegedly engineering the hiring of an inexperienced 30-year-old officer to a senior position within crime intelligence. At a media briefing on Wednesday, National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola announced Makgatho would lead the intelligence division pending the outcomes of internal disciplinary processes. 'He brings to this position a wealth of experience and knowledge in the intelligence and detective space with 36 years' service in both environments. He holds a B-Tech degree in Policing as well as a National Diploma in Police Administration. We have full confidence in Major General Makgato, and we trust that his leadership will enhance efficiency and maintain stability with crime intelligence.'
Daily Maverick
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Crimefighting continues in face of ‘grave national security concern' — Masemola, Ramaphosa on shock accusations
National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola says crimefighting is continuing and that he will soon make several announcements, including who the country's acting Crime Intelligence boss is. This comes a day after shocking claims about policing. South Africa will soon know who will act as its national Crime Intelligence boss – after the unit's head, Dumisani Khumalo, was arrested and serious accusations about dodgy policing emerged. In a statement on Monday, 7 July 2025, the South African Police Service (SAPS) said National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola would announce this week who would fill the Crime Intelligence position. This comes after its head, Dumisani Khumalo, was arrested along with six colleagues on 26 June 2025. Those arrests for corruption now fit into a rapidly expanding scandal that has rocked South Africa's law enforcement arena. According to Monday's SAPS statement, other policing issues would be detailed to the public this week. Policing and 'national security concern' The statement said: 'General Masemola will also update the media on ongoing police operations that are under way to prevent and combat crime in the country. 'The General assures the nation that daily crime combating operations and normal day-to-day policing at stations and other SAPS service points continues.' The statement was issued in response to what happened the day before, when KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, held a press briefing in which he alleged that senior figures, including Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, had undermined investigations into political killings and organised crime. Mkhwanazi had claimed that the disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team was orchestrated to shield politically connected members of a criminal syndicate from prosecution, with Mchunu's assistance. Mkhwanazi said: 'I can confirm before South Africans today that the investigation which these members were involved with in Gauteng has unmasked the syndicate, and this syndicate involves, amongst others, politicians who are currently serving in Parliament.' He alleged that some syndicate members were in 'the South African Police Service, the metro police and Correctional Services. They include prosecutors in Gauteng province, the judiciary… and all these are controlled by the drug cartel and businesspeople in Gauteng. This act, of course, undermines the criminal justice system in this country.' STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA ON STATEMENTS BY SAPS KWAZULU-NATAL PROVINCIAL COMMISSIONER President @CyrilRamaphosa has noted statements made earlier today in a media briefing by SAPS KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.… — The Presidency 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) July 6, 2025 The critical accusations and allegations prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to react. He said: 'This is a matter of grave national security concern that is receiving the highest priority attention… 'All parties to this matter are called upon to exercise discipline and restraint. 'The trading of accusations and counter-accusations threatens to undermine public confidence and sow confusion.' Minister vs Mkhwanazi For his part, Mchunu issued a statement effectively rubbishing Mkhwanazi's 'wild allegations and claims'. 'The Minister of Police will never allow his integrity, that of the Ministry or the SAPS at large, to be undermined by insinuations made without evidence or due processes, from anyone, including Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi,' it said. 'We will be reviewing the Provincial Commissioner's statements and consider appropriate action. 'All these statements made by him in public require an urgent, thorough and transparent investigation, on a proper platform.' FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ⁰6 July 2025 MINISTER OF POLICE REJECTS BASELESS ALLEGATIONS BY KZN PROVINCIAL COMMISSIONER The Minister of Police, Mr Senzo Mchunu, in his capacity as a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, has been on a campaign… — Senzo Mchunu (@Senzo_Mchunu_) July 6, 2025 On Sunday, when addressing the media, Mkhwanazi shared a presentation outlining various allegations, some linked to the Political Killings Task Team. The team was formed after the 2018 murder of ANC activist Musawenkosi 'Qashana' Mchunu. According to Mkhwanazi, backed by a multi-agency presidential task force and praised for its prosecution-led, intelligence-driven strategy, the team had, by this year, investigated more than 600 politically related dockets, arrested 436 suspects and recovered 156 firearms, with at least 55 of them linked to political crimes. Convictions to date total more than 1,800 years in prison across more than 100 cases. Mkhwanazi said that at the end of December last year, Mchunu issued a letter to Masemola, requesting that the team be disbanded. The minister said the task team was no longer necessary because it did not add value to policing in the province, according to the SABC. Despite this instruction, Mkhwanazi said at the time he would continue the fight to ensure the task team was allowed to proceed with high-profile investigations. Mkhwanazi said members of the task team were working with detectives in Gauteng on possible cover-ups in murder cases in the province that involved senior police officers. The disbandment of the task team was followed by a series of internal memos from SAPS Crime Detection head, Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya, withdrawing 121 case dockets from the team without the approval of the national or provincial commissioners. These dockets have reportedly sat untouched at the SAPS head office ever since. WhatsApp messages Sunday's briefing included explosive revelations such as WhatsApp messages and screenshots allegedly sourced from the phone of accused businessman Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala, showing communication between Matlala, Mchunu and a politically connected intermediary, Brown Mogotsi. The chats suggest knowledge of the task team's disbandment before it was made public, direct discussions of 'solutions' to investigations and apparent financial support for political campaigns and 8 January ANC events. Matlala was arrested by the task team in May and faces charges of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and money laundering. Fewer than two weeks later, the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption moved to seize the task team's exhibits, including Matlala's cellphone, and arrested the team's project coordinator. One of the syndicate suspects arrested by the team, Katiso Molefe, was granted bail. The effect, Mkhwanazi said on Sunday, had been chilling, with the Gauteng investigations into organised crime 'compromised' and confidence in the State's willingness to prosecute politically connected suspects further eroded. Political reaction The EFF expressed concern, saying the briefing laid bare 'the existence of a powerful, organised criminal syndicate operating at the highest levels of the South African state'. It urged the chairperson of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Police, Ian Cameron, to convene an urgent portfolio committee sitting for a briefing from Mchunu. On Sunday, Cameron said the DA had written to National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza for an urgent debate in Parliament on corruption within the SAPS. At a security cluster media briefing on Monday morning, Cameron said Mkhwanazi's 'damning allegations' have placed the 'focus on the integrity, or the lack thereof, in the entire criminal justice system'. 'This is not just an indictment on the South African Police Service, or parts of it, it is an indictment on the criminal justice system. If what has been said is true, it explains why the system has not been able to effectively arrest the ever-increasing criminality in the country. The allegations are not only damning to a few individuals, it indicates a whole systematic weakening of the police to enable corruption and to undermine the rule of law,' he said. He added that Mkhwanazi's revelations have given credence to the calls by the committee for an extensive skills and lifestyle audit. 'I actually want to go as far as saying we need to go through an entire integrity commission to get to the bottom of the rot in the South African Police Service.' He said that the revelations also ' require urgent action ' from President Cyril Ramaphosa. 'Weighty revelations' On social media on Sunday, Eskom board chairperson Mteto Nyati called Mkhwanazi 'a great role model' and said his 'decision to speak out' was 'exemplary'. Build One South Africa (Bosa) said it was 'disturbed by the string of weighty revelations. Of particular concern is General Mkhwanazi's claim that the task team appointed to investigate police killings was deliberately sabotaged from within the South African Police Service (SAPS). If true, this fundamentally undermines the integrity of our criminal justice institutions and threatens public safety. 'His allegations implicate senior police officials, prosecutors, judges, members of Parliament and members of the executive in acts that sabotage law enforcement and enable political killings. 'These are the symptoms of a state in capture crisis, where criminal syndicates and corrupt politicians allegedly operate with impunity.' Bosa joined the growing calls for Mchunu, Mkhwanazi and others involved to urgently appear before Parliament. Mkhwanazi's briefing on Sunday ended with a call to SAPS members to 'stand up and protect our people against this criminal syndicate', even as he confirmed a formal criminal investigation was under way into the apparent capture of parts of South Africa's criminal justice system. 'Despite all these challenges, we acknowledge and appreciate the resilience of the members of the Political Killings Task Team,' Mkhwanazi said. 'They remain operational, albeit with serious attempts to disrupt their work.' DM
IOL News
06-07-2025
- IOL News
Call for audit into SAPS Crime Intelligence following arrests of senior officials
Crime Intelligence boss Dumisani Khumalo and six colleagues appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court. Image: Screenshot from video. The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, Jan de Villiers, has called for an independent and immediate audit into the South African Police Service (SAPS) Crime Intelligence Division, following the arrest of seven senior officials on corruption-related charges. The arrests, which took place between June and July 2025, were of high-ranking Crime Intelligence officials responsible for financial oversight, internal controls, and personnel management. Those arrested include: Divisional Commissioner Lieutenant-Gen Dumisani Khumalo Chief Financial Officer Major-General Philani Lushaba Gauteng Crime Intelligence Head Major-General Josias Lekalakala Head of Analysis Centre Major-General Nosipho Madondo Technology Services Major-General Zwelithini Gabela Technical Systems Brigadier Dineo Mokwele Head of Vetting Brigadier Phindile Ncube The officials are facing charges of fraud and corruption linked to the appointment of an unqualified civilian in a senior post. 'These arrests raise grave concerns about systemic corruption within Crime Intelligence, particularly in relation to payroll fraud and the possible existence of ghost workers,' said De Villiers. 'It is reasonable to expect similar malpractice in payroll management... the possibility of irregular appointments, inflated headcounts, and unvetted recruits of 'ghost' employees is high.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading In a letter addressed to the Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu, the chairperson called for National Treasury and the Public Service Commission to coordinate a full audit of the Crime Intelligence division within 90 days. The audit must verify the headcount against the actual number of personnel deployed and scrutinise all payments from the Secret Services Account, a classified fund used for covert operations and informant compensation. De Villiers said the Secret Services Account 'has historically been flagged as highly vulnerable to abuse', that many of the arrested officials had direct responsibility for managing the fund. He said there is serious concern that public money may have been used to 'fund fabricated operatives or fake intelligence activities.' 'Ghost-worker fraud in government is not isolated,' he said. 'It takes sophisticated collusion to create and maintain these ghost-worker employees, who operate like organised criminal syndicates embedded in our government systems.' THE MERCURY
Zawya
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
Call for Urgent Ghost-Worker Audit in the South African Police Service (SAPS) Crime Intelligence Following Several Arrests
The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, Mr Jan de Villiers, on Thursday submitted a formal request to the Minister of Police calling for an independent and immediate audit into ghost employees within the South African Police Service (SAPS) Crime Intelligence Division. This request follows the recent arrest of seven senior officials for serious corruption-related offences. They appeared before the Pretoria Regional Court on charges of fraud and corruption relating to the appointment of an unqualified civilian in a senior post. The arrests, which took place between June and July 2025, involved high-ranking officials responsible for financial oversight, personnel management and internal controls. The list includes: Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo (Divisional Commissioner) Maj-Gen Philani Lushaba (Chief Financial Officer) Maj-Gen Josias Lekalakala (Gauteng Crime Intelligence Head) Maj-Gen Nosipho Madondo (Head of Analysis Centre) Maj-Gen Zwelithini Gabela (Technology Services) Brig Dineo Mokwele (Technical Systems) Brig Phindile Ncube (Head of Vetting) Mr de Villiers said these arrests raise grave concerns about systemic corruption within Crime Intelligence, particularly in relation to payroll fraud and the possible existence of 'ghost workers' – non-existent individuals who draw salaries and benefits from the SAPS payroll. In his letter, the Chairperson also refers to the Secret Services Account, a classified budget line intended for covert operations and informant payments, which has historically been flagged as highly vulnerable to abuse. With many of the arrested officials directly responsible for managing this fund, there is serious concern that public resources may have been misappropriated to fund fabricated operatives or fake intelligence activity. 'It is reasonable to expect similar malpractice in payroll management... the possibility of irregular appointments, inflated headcounts and unvetted recruits of 'ghost' employees is high,' said the Chairperson. The formal request also calls for the National Treasury and the Public Service Commission to coordinate an audit of the Crime Intelligence division within 90 days. This audit must focus on verifying headcounts against the number of personnel physically deployed. All Secret Service Account payments, including informant lists and payment records, must also be audited. This request is aligned with the Minister of Finance and the Department of Public Service and Administration's ongoing efforts to identify and remove ghost employees across the public service. The Chairperson also reminded the Minister of Police, Mr Senzo Mchunu, and the rest of SAPS leadership that ghost-worker fraud in government is not isolated. 'It takes sophisticated collusion to create and maintain these ghost-worker employees, who operate like organised criminal syndicates embedded in our government systems,' he said. 'We trust that under Minister Mchunu's leadership, SAPS will use this opportunity to lead by example – rooting out embedded corruption and reclaiming public funds for real intelligence and public safety services.' This urgent audit is not just a matter of financial accountability but also one of restoring public trust in Crime Intelligence and ensuring that South Africa's intelligence-led policing is backed by a credible, ethical and fully functional institution. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.
