Wrap | Inside the latest revelations at the Madlanga Commission

From explosive testimony to shadowy relationships between police officials, politicians and controversial businessmen, the Madlanga Commission has peeled back the layers of alleged corruption within South Africa’s law enforcement structures.

As proceedings pause, we take a closer look at the key moments and witnesses that have defined the inquiry so far.

Sergeant Fannie Nkosi – useful puppet or South Africa’s very own Raymond Reddington, the concierge of crime?

Brigadier Rachel Matjeng – was she in a romantic relationship with Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala, or was that a convenient excuse for the money and gifts she received from the controversial businessman?

And also, what is the name of the man that major-generals and senior police officials in the country are too afraid to mention in public?

The Madlanga Commission is currently on a two-week recess, and with that, we are taking the opportunity to look back at some of the most interesting witnesses and testimony we’ve heard since the beginning of 2026.

When the Madlanga Commission returned from the December break, the first witness to appear was Major-General Anthony Gopaul.

Gopaul testified on two incidents he had with suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu.

The first relates to Gopaul’s time as police commissioner in the iLembe District, KwaZulu-Natal.

In February last year, ANC councillor in the Mandeni Local Municipality, Phendukani Mabhida, was shot and killed in his home.

Gopaul said he received a call from Police Minister Mchunu asking to be kept abreast of the case. As district commissioner, Gopaul said it was “inappropriate” for a police minister to contact him directly.

ALSO READ: Former SAPS iLembe District Commissioner says Mchunu called him asking for update on councillor's murder case

The second incident involves a by-election in KwaDukuza’s Ward 28 last year.

Gopaul testified that Police Minister Mchunu came to KwaDukuza to campaign for the ANC in the by-election.

However, while he was there, Gopaul said Mchunu went to the local police station to enquire why a candidate from the MK Party had not been arrested.

That candidate was Vishnu “Dooshie” Govender, who defected from the ANC and joined the MK Party, triggering the by-election.

Gopaul said Mchunu arrived at the police station clad in ANC regalia, saying he had received complaints about Govender and that police officers were scared to arrest him.

Govender ended up winning the by-election over the ANC’s candidate.

READ MORE: KZN police respond to Senona claims he was kicked out of office by Mkhwanazi

Senona believes Madlanga Commission is 'prejudiced' against him

Up next was Major-General Lesetja Senona, the head of the Hawks in KZN.

Senona was facing allegations of having an improper relationship with controversial businessman and alleged crime boss Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala.

Senona testified that he has a close relationship with Matlala; however, he only knew him as a businessman.

This has become a familiar line from senior police officials when questioned about their relationship with Matlala.

There was another allegation against Senona that he used his son, Thato, as a conduit between him and Matlala.

Senona said Matlala and his son were in talks to buy property together; however, nothing ever came of it.

Then there was this awkward moment when Senona refused to disclose the name of a person who was mentioned in WhatsApp messages between him and KZN police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.

ALSO READ: KZN top cop Mkhwanazi clarifies events that led to seizure of Senona’s State gadgets

Madlanga Commission: Senona denies assisting 'Cat' Matlala to secure R360m SAPS tender

In a matter unrelated but also related to the Madlanga Commission, Senona said that when he returned to work in February, he was escorted out of his office in Durban, with police confiscating his work laptop and phone.

Then there was Brigadier Rachel Matjeng, section head for SAPS Quality Management.

Matjeng testified that she was in a relationship with Cat Matlala and that all the gifts and money she received from him were romantic gestures, not a bribe.

Now, before we go deeper into this, I have to tell you about Cat Matlala’s R360 million tender that he got from SAPS.

The tender was awarded to Medicare24 Tshwane District in June 2024, which is owned by Matlala, for the provision of health services.

This tender did not work like a typical one where government pays the full amount upfront.

Instead, each time Matlala’s Medicare24 company provided a service to the police, such as a health check-up - he would submit an invoice and then get paid.

However, there was an issue: Matlala was submitting invoices, but they were either being disputed or not paid by SAPS.

And that’s where Brigadier Rachel Matjeng enters.

WhatsApp chats presented at the Madlanga Commission showed that Matlala and Matjeng regularly discussed these unpaid invoices, and she would use her position to ensure he was paid.

Matjeng maintains she was simply doing her job, as health-related matters at SAPS fell under her responsibilities.

She said asking Matlala to buy her Ozempic was unrelated to work.

Staying on Matlala’s SAPS tender, we also got more background when North West businessman Suliman Carrim testified before the commission.

Carrim said he was approached by Matlala in June 2024 - the same month he secured the tender - to invest in his business.

Carrim said he invested R10 million into Medicare24, with the understanding that he would receive 10% of every invoice until he recovered his initial investment plus another R10 million.

However, Carrim said there was no written contract for this agreement, it was concluded with a handshake.

The tender was eventually cancelled in April 2025, and as a result, Carrim never recovered his full investment.

In fact, he received about R3 million from Medicare24. Interestingly, around R750,000 of that money was sent to another controversial businessman, Hangwani Maumela.

You may know Maumela from the Tembisa Hospital scandal, where a group of highly connected men allegedly looted the health facility to the tune of R2 billion.

Hangwani Maumela and Cat Matlala were among the businessmen implicated in that matter, and now both their names have surfaced in this irregular SAPS tender.

The problem for Carrim is that the R750,000 he sent to Maumela was not sent directly to him, but to a company registered in the name of Maumela’s sister.

This is significant because, at the time, Hangwani Maumela had his assets and bank accounts frozen by SARS. By sending money through his sister, Carrim may have assisted in circumventing a preservation order.

Suspended head of organised crime at SAPS, Richard Shibiri, also took the stand at the Madlanga Commission to answer uncomfortable questions about his relationship with Cat Matlala.

Shibiri said he knew Matlala as a reserved businessman involved in the private security industry.

That is why Shibiri didn’t mind taking a R70,000 loan from Matlala.

He said the loan was to fix his son’s car, which had recently been damaged.

However, the commission’s evidence leaders examined the bank records of Shibiri and his son and found they had a combined R100,000 in their accounts.

This undermined the argument that Shibiri needed the loan due to financial difficulty.

ALSO READ: Nkosi claims bag collected from Molefe’s house was biking equipment, not money

Nkosi denies paying SABC journalist R500 in exchange for information on Musa Khawula's phone number

Probably the most pernicious witness to testify before the Madlanga Commission is organised crime cop Sergeant Fannie Nkosi.

Nkosi was the middleman, the intermediary between everything and everyone.

The commission subpoenaed his WhatsApp records, revealing a Pandora’s box of information about the alleged criminal infiltration of law enforcement.

What Nkosi did was provide plausible deniability.

When Deputy National Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya wanted to communicate with Matlala, he did so through Nkosi Moya says decision to dismiss Morodi taken to protect Tshwane’s integrityand vice versa.

The same applied to Richard Shibiri.

Nkosi wasn’t only in contact with controversial businessmen; he also had some of the country’s most notorious taxi bosses on speed dial, whom he described as father figures.

However, these relationships were far from harmless.

Nkosi repeatedly shared confidential police information with these taxi bosses, including details about tenders, investigations, and even active crime scenes.

Nkosi also had a close relationship with Tshwane Municipality CFO Gareth Mnisi and TMPD deputy chief Umashi Dlamini.

At the municipality, Nkosi allegedly facilitated tenders between businessmen and senior city officials.

Through Nkosi’s testimony, we have seen the dominoes begin to fall in the capital.

The first was ActionSA councillor and MMC Kholofelo Morodi.

She was suspended by both the municipality and her party after it was revealed she had shared confidential tender information with Nkosi.

TMPD deputy chief Umashi Dlamini has also been suspended over allegations that he conspired with Nkosi to direct tenders to preferred bidders.

We also learned that Nkosi’s home was raided in October last year by police searching for Cat Matlala’s credit card.

Police also found R380,000 in cash stashed in a safe in Nkosi’s house.

READ: Moya says decision to dismiss Morodi taken to protect Tshwane’s integrity

TMPD deputy chief Umashi Dhlamini suspended

The Madlanga Commission resumes hearings on 7 April, and we expect it will zoom in on the growing allegations of corruption at the Tshwane Municipality.