Madlanga CommissionLatest day

Alleged network of influence

The Khan network

A crime intelligence general, a cigarette businessman and a political leader - the map of who was allegedly connected to whom, drawn only from what the Madlanga Commission has heard.

Crime IntelligenceSAPS procurementParty politicsIntelligence oversightPress freedomAnti-corruption prosecutions
17names in Annexure C linked to Khan
R39malleged property portfolio in evidence
30vehicles allegedly bought in one year
Days 132-134evidence led in his absence

What it is

Major-General Feroz Khan, the suspended deputy head of SAPS Crime Intelligence, sits at the centre of one of the largest bodies of evidence placed before the Madlanga Commission. A commission affidavit and its Annexure C name 17 people linked to him; testimony over Days 129 to 141 traced alleged tender facilitation, alleged political protection, an alleged plot against the Inspector-General of Intelligence, an alleged “counter” on a journalist, and an alleged bribe offer to a Member of Parliament. Khan was shot in an apparent assassination attempt on 28 June 2026, days before he was due to testify. The commission then led the evidence against him in his absence. He has never answered it under oath, and every allegation on this page remains untested.

The map

The Khan network

Every relationship on this map was placed on the public record before the Madlanga Commission. It is a map of allegations and testimony, not of proven facts.

ALLEGATIONS ONLY. This map renders claims made in evidence, affidavits and testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. Nothing here is a finding of guilt. Every person named is presumed innocent, and several have not been summoned or given an opportunity to answer under oath.

How we got here

  1. Jun 2021Parliamentary questions drafted
  2. Jun 2021Dintwe removal plot alleged
  3. Aug 2021EFF fleet-management bid forwarded to Khan
  4. May 2026Khan's Houghton home raided, devices seized
  5. Jun 2026Khan drops legal challenge
  6. 9 Jun 2026Annexure C made public - 17 names
  7. 28 Jun 2026Khan shot in Houghton, days before testifying
  8. 1 Jul 2026In-camera bid rejected; too critical to testify
  9. 3-7 Jul 2026Evidence led in absentia (Days 132-134)
  10. 10 Jul 2026Docket-leak evidence against IDAC head (Day 137)
SuspendedSummoned - heard in absentia

Major-General Feroz Khan

Deputy head, SAPS Crime Intelligence (suspended)

  • Shot and wounded in an apparent assassination attempt in Houghton on 28 June 2026, days before he was due to testify.
  • Evidence was led against him in his absence from 3 July 2026 (Days 132-134); his bid to testify in camera was rejected as “hopeless”.
  • Commission evidence alleges unexplained wealth of about R39 million in property and roughly 30 vehicles bought in a single year.
  • He has not testified. Everything before the commission remains an allegation.

Alleged links

Inner circle and conduits

The businessmen, political figures and officials alleged in evidence to have moved money, favours or messages around Khan.

Named in evidence

Mohammed Sayed

Businessman; alleged co-director, Conalinks

  • Our profile records “a sustained relationship in which Sayed directed procurement approaches to Khan, forwarded intelligence targets, and allegedly coordinated political interference”.
  • Alleged 2021 SAPS Covid-mask and test-kit tender exchanges; evidence leaders said “at no point did Khan attempt to reject the arrangement”.
  • Allegedly forwarded Khan the documents behind a ~R3.5m London trip on 12 October 2022.

Alleged links

Named - filed responding affidavit

Julius Sello Malema

Leader, Economic Freedom Fighters; Member of Parliament

  • Named in Annexure C of the Nyatlo affidavit, one of 17 names linked to Khan.
  • The affidavit alleges a relationship in which Malema received a complainant's details and undertook to protect Khan politically.
  • Filed a responding affidavit denying he conspired in the alleged plot. He has not been summoned as a commission witness.

Alleged links

Named in Annexure C - not summoned

Adriano Mazotti

Businessman - Carnilinx

  • Listed among the Annexure C names in the commission affidavit.
  • Has not been summoned and has not answered the allegations under oath.

Alleged links

Named in the case record; no profile page yet.

Named in evidence

Molefe Fani (“Fanie”)

Suspended SAPS supply-chain divisional commissioner; acting Treasury procurement head

  • Identified in evidence as the “Fanie” in a 5 June 2021 exchange on the Covid tender thread.
  • Named in the alleged manipulation of a R280 million SAPS/Treasury IT transversal contract, with an alleged kickback of about R93 million split three ways.

Alleged links

Named in Khan's evidence; no profile page yet.

Oversight and prosecutions

The anti-corruption directorate at the centre of the 2018 docket allegation, and the investigators who answered for it.

Summoned - testimony postponed

Advocate Andrea Johnson

Head, Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC)

  • Alleged by a retired Hawks colonel to have leaked a 2018 assault-case docket to Khan before he was charged.
  • The docket was emailed on 4 July 2018 and contained 12 images and an audio file.
  • Summoned to answer the evidence on Day 138 but did not appear; the chair called her medical certificate “useless”. She has not answered the allegation under oath.

Alleged links

Testified - Days 139-141

Colonel Brian Padayachee

Senior investigator, IDAC

  • Rejected an alleged “Khan-IDAC cabal”: “if such a cabal exists, I am not a party to it.”
  • Confirmed he knew Khan from prior Crime Intelligence work.
  • Denied running unlawful interceptions or covert surveillance.

Alleged links

Commission investigator

Tshepo Nyatlo

Investigator, Madlanga Commission

  • Author of the affidavit that is the evidentiary backbone of this network, including Annexure C and its 17 names.
  • The affidavit was made public on 9 June 2026 as page 009124 of the commission court record.

Alleged links

Commission investigator; not in the witness or commissioner registries.

Law and resistance

Officers, an MP and a journalist's account: the people who testified about, complained of, or refused the alleged conduct.

Testified - Days 1-3

Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi

KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner

  • Chaired the internal SAPS disciplinary inquiry that earlier cleared Khan.
  • Warrant Officer Boy Steve Phakula later alleged that panel was given “misleading statements”.
  • His July 2025 complaint is what triggered the commission.

Alleged links

Testified - Days 116-117

Witness I

Hawks narcotics team leader (SANEB); identity protected

  • Testified that Khan “just hijacked and took over the scene” at the Aeroton cocaine bust.
  • Said he was offered a promotion in exchange for changing his statement.

Alleged links

Testified - Days 108, 115

Lieutenant Colonel Nkoana Joseph Sebola

Senior Hawks investigator

  • Disputed who controlled the Aeroton scene and described Khan's involvement as “unusual”.
  • Testified that he, not Khan, was in command of the 2021 Aeroton crime scene.
  • Named Khan and Maj-Gen Ebrahim Kadwa as interfering from above.

Alleged links

Testified - credibility questioned

Samuel Mashaba

Chief Provincial Inspector, Gauteng Traffic Police

  • Accused Khan of trying to take credit for the Aeroton bust without the briefing from his team.
  • Alleged Khan disrupted the operation and then orchestrated the arrest.

Alleged links

Testified - Day 129

Vusi Shongwe

MK Party Member of Parliament

  • Testified that as he pushed to haul Khan before Parliament, Khan's associates offered him a R10 million bribe, or a R2 million tender, and two bulletproof BMWs to stop.
  • Said a tearful Khan told him “you are suffocating me”.
  • Named associates Yusuf Kajee and a man known only as Imran; alleged handover was set for Sandton on 10 March 2026.

Alleged links

Testified - Day 137

Colonel Kobus Roelofse (retired)

Retired Hawks investigator

  • Told the commission that the head of IDAC leaked a docket to shield Khan in a 2018 assault case.
  • The complainant in that case was Brigadier Leonora Phetlhe.

Alleged links

Day 137 witness; no profile page yet.

Alleged targets

Those the evidence says the network moved against: the intelligence watchdog, and a journalist.

Alleged target

Dr Setlhomamaru Dintwe

Former Inspector-General of Intelligence

  • Commission investigator Tshepo Nyatlo: “The intended purpose was to trap Dintwe into lying, which would then be used as grounds to demand his removal from office.”
  • Messages led on Day 134 include: “this should get him to lie, and in return we can ask for his removal coz he lied”.

Alleged links

Referenced throughout the case record; no profile page yet.

Alleged target

Marianne Thamm

Journalist, Daily Maverick

  • Evidence alleges an instruction that “a counter should be activated on the journalist”.
  • The commission asked investigators to probe a possible link to a March 2021 burglary at her home in which both her laptops were stolen.
  • Described in evidence as “a pattern of abusing Crime Intelligence resources for his own personal gains”.

Alleged links

Named in evidence as an alleged target; no profile page yet.

Political / allianceBusiness / moneyIntelligenceLaw enforcementLegal / investigativeThreat / harm allegedDashed lines mark indirect or contested links. Labels name the alleged exchange.

Evidence led by

Named in testimony

Alleged figures

Summoned - heard in absentia

Major-General Feroz Khan

Suspended deputy head of SAPS Crime Intelligence and the centre of the alleged network. Summoned to testify from 1 July 2026; shot on 28 June 2026 and never appeared. Evidence was led against him in absentia.

View profile →
Named in evidence

Mohammed Sayed

Businessman and alleged co-director of Conalinks. Our record describes a sustained relationship in which he allegedly directed procurement approaches to Khan, forwarded intelligence targets, and coordinated political interference.

View profile →
Named - filed responding affidavit

Julius Sello Malema

EFF leader and Member of Parliament, named in Annexure C. The affidavit alleges he received a complainant's details and undertook to protect Khan politically. He filed a responding affidavit denying it and has not been summoned.

View profile →
Named in Annexure C - not summoned

Adriano Mazotti

Carnilinx businessman listed among the Annexure C names. He has not been summoned and has not answered the allegations under oath.

Named in evidence

Molefe Fani

Suspended SAPS supply-chain divisional commissioner and acting Treasury procurement head, named in evidence on the Covid tender thread and in an alleged R280 million IT transversal contract with an alleged R93 million kickback.

Summoned - testimony postponed

Advocate Andrea Johnson

Head of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption, alleged by a retired Hawks colonel to have leaked a 2018 assault-case docket to Khan before he was charged. She was summoned to answer the evidence but did not appear.

View profile →

Who exposed it

The witnesses

Alleged target

Dr Setlhomamaru Dintwe

Former Inspector-General of Intelligence and the alleged target of a plot, described by a commission investigator, to trap him into lying so his removal could be demanded.

Witness

Vusi Shongwe

MK Party MP who testified that Khan's associates offered him R10 million, or a R2 million tender and two bulletproof BMWs, to stop pushing for Khan to appear before Parliament.

View profile →
Witness - identity protected

Witness I

Hawks narcotics team leader who testified that Khan “just hijacked and took over the scene” at the Aeroton cocaine bust and that he was offered a promotion to change his statement.

View profile →
Witness

Lieutenant Colonel Nkoana Joseph Sebola

Senior Hawks investigator who disputed who controlled the Aeroton scene, called Khan's involvement “unusual”, and named Khan and Maj-Gen Ebrahim Kadwa as interfering from above.

View profile →
Witness

Colonel Brian Padayachee

Senior IDAC investigator who rejected an alleged “Khan-IDAC cabal” before the commission: “if such a cabal exists, I am not a party to it.”

View profile →
Alleged target

Marianne Thamm

Daily Maverick journalist named in evidence as the subject of an alleged instruction that “a counter should be activated on the journalist”. The commission asked investigators to probe a possible link to a 2021 burglary at her home.

The drug trade

Cases it touches

9 Jun 2026

The alleged Khan-Malema-Sayed political protection network

A crime intelligence general, a cigarette businessman, and a political leader - the Nyatlo affidavit traces an alleged network of mutual protection spanning police contracts, parliamentary questions, and a private complainant's home address.

Open case file →12 May 2026

The R286 million Aeroton cocaine bust - and the R55m that went missing

A cocaine seizure from Brazil, routed through Durban to Gauteng, compromised at the scene with R55 million later unaccounted for - and a forensic trail pointing to an organised syndicate with insiders at the port. One of two cocaine cases the commission ties to the same trafficking pattern.

Open case file →

Sources & updates

Where this comes from

This page maps allegations, testimony and affidavit content placed on the public record before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. It is not a finding of guilt, liability or wrongdoing by any person named, and it does not assert that any relationship shown here is proven. Every person named is presumed innocent. Major-General Feroz Khan has not testified and has not answered this evidence under oath. Several people named, including Julius Malema and Adriano Mazotti, have not been summoned as commission witnesses and have not had an opportunity to respond under oath to the specific allegations.