Shocking Allegations from the Madlanga Commission: How a High-Ranking Officer Allegedly Acted as a Courier for Cartel Cash
Imagine discovering that some of the very people sworn to protect society are secretly pocketing payoffs from dangerous criminals. That's the unsettling reality unfolding in South Africa's ongoing probe into police corruption. But here's where it gets controversial: Is this just the tip of the iceberg in a system riddled with betrayal, or could there be deeper forces at play manipulating these events? Let's dive into the details from the latest testimony, and see what it reveals about trust in law enforcement.
Kamogelo Moichela | Updated 1 hour ago
In a gripping session before the Madlanga Commission—a special inquiry set up to investigate allegations of state capture and corruption in South Africa's police force—Crime Intelligence head Lt-Gen. Dumisani Khumalo shed light on how suspended deputy police commissioner Lt-Gen. Shadrack Sibiya reportedly enlisted a junior officer, Sergeant F. Nkosi, as his personal errand boy for collecting illicit funds from organized crime groups and shady underworld personalities.
Sergeant Nkosi, who works out of the South African Police Service (SAPS) headquarters in Pretoria, falls directly under Sibiya's supervision. During his testimony on Tuesday, Khumalo described Nkosi as Sibiya's reliable intermediary, bridging the gap between the police brass and the criminal underworld.
To back up his claims, Khumalo presented compelling evidence: CCTV recordings and photos capturing Nkosi's visit to the luxurious Sandhurst mansion of Katiso “KT” Molefe, a businessman accused of murder, on November 27 of last year. The footage shows Nkosi pulling up just after 4 p.m., spending under ten minutes inside, and exiting with a bulky white paper bag in hand. Molefe even escorted him to his official government car—a white BMW—creating a scene that screams secrecy.
"He's carrying a bag that might not seem heavy, but it's clearly filled with something," Khumalo explained to the commission. "It appears as though he was there to pick up an item that had been ready and waiting for him."
Supporting Khumalo's account, documents from the commission's evidence files quote Witness C—a key source in the probe—as confirming Nkosi's role. According to this witness, Nkosi "frequently gathered funds from cartel operatives" on Sibiya's behalf. Moreover, the witness alleged that Nkosi managed bribe deliveries from both Molefe and another controversial figure, Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala, a businessman facing multiple counts of corruption and racketeering.
Building on last week's revelations, the testimony unveiled that Sibiya supposedly raked in millions of rand in cash from Matlala over an extended period, with Nkosi serving as the delivery messenger. Matlala is said to have showered Sibiya with extravagant presents, including 20 impalas—those are antelope, by the way, not the cars—and stacks of money, as detailed by the witness.
One particularly striking example: In January, an alleged R2 million in cash was dropped off at Sibiya's home in Sandton, supposedly to help fund the purchase of a guest house. On another occasion, Sibiya instructed Matlala to stash R200,000 in a trash bin at his Pretoria office, where it could be retrieved discreetly. Investigators are now poring over Matlala's various bank statements to map out the flow of these suspicious funds.
And this is the part most people miss: Just ten days after Nkosi's Sandhurst stopover, Molefe was nabbed in a coordinated raid by the Gang Crime Intelligence Operations and Priority Task Teams (GCIOPS and PKTT)—special police units designed to tackle high-level crime. But here's where it gets really intriguing and potentially explosive: The operation was reportedly sabotaged by interference from within the Hawks, South Africa's elite crime-fighting wing. Could this be a case of internal sabotage to protect corrupt networks? It's a twist that begs for more scrutiny.
Khumalo is scheduled to pick up his testimony again tomorrow, promising even more insights into this web of deceit.
What do you think? Does this expose a systemic rot in SAPS that needs a complete overhaul, or are these isolated bad apples in an otherwise noble force? Could there be a counter-narrative where these allegations are exaggerated for political gain? Share your opinions in the comments—we'd love to hear your take on whether justice will prevail.
