Dismissed by the police service, and moving to challenge it (2 and 3 September 2026)
On Wednesday 2 September 2026 the South African Police Service dismissed Khan. Per the Daily Maverick and Eyewitness News, national spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said he was 'deemed dismissed' in terms of Regulation 9(7)(b) of the SAPS Discipline Regulations, for 'failure to appear before the designated senior officer responsible for dealing with the expeditious disciplinary process'. The provision operates on non-attendance rather than on the merits of the misconduct. Khan's position throughout has been that he could not attend because he was still recovering from the gunshot wounds of the 28 June 2026 shooting and was suffering post-traumatic stress; his attempt to stop the process in the Labour Court was struck off the roll on 31 August with costs against his union. On Thursday 3 September his lawyers told Eyewitness News that they have to challenge the dismissal. An employer's decision, and an employee's challenge to it, resolve an employment dispute. They determine nothing about the allegations before this commission, which Khan has still not answered from the witness box, and he is presumed innocent.
A second no-show in the precious-metals case, and a J50 warrant application (2 September 2026)
Khan failed for a second time to appear in the Kempton Park Magistrate's Court on Wednesday 2 September 2026 in the illicit precious-metals matter, and the state applied for J50 arrest warrants to secure the accused. Per The Citizen and SABC News his legal team submitted medical records to account for the absence. He is charged alongside Gauteng Hawks head Major-General Ebrahim Kadwa and businessman Tariq Downes with corruption, defeating the ends of justice and contravening the Precious Metals Act, over a 2021 incident at OR Tambo International Airport in which 75.9 grams of raw gold worth about R62,836 was seized; the three were arrested on 10 May 2026 and each remains out on R20,000 bail. The defence complained of disclosure delays, with one representative telling the court that 'the state is the author of the situation we find ourselves in', and indicated a co-accused may make representations to the National Prosecuting Authority for the charges to be withdrawn. The matter was postponed to 27 November 2026. A warrant application is a procedural step and a charge is not a finding: nothing has been tried, none of the three has pleaded, and all are presumed innocent.
The altered sick note, and the doctor's affidavit (Day 171, 1 September 2026)
Khan was under subpoena to appear on 1 September 2026 and did not; his legal team argued for a postponement on medical grounds. Per the Mail & Guardian and TimesLIVE, evidence leader Advocate Adila Hassim SC then put up an affidavit from Khan's treating doctor, Dr Fine, in which the doctor said he had altered a medical certificate at the request of Khan's son. The original, dated 22 May 2026, recorded that Khan would be fit to resume duty on 30 June; a version produced on 20 August moved that to 27 June and added a diagnosis of extreme stress, depression and anxiety. On the doctor's account he warned that amending a certificate already submitted to an employer could amount to fraud, and was told - after the son checked with Khan - that it had not been submitted. Hassim said the police records showed it had already been submitted, and that what SAPS had asked for was more detail on the diagnosis rather than a new date. Per The Citizen her assessment was: 'It was a lie.' None of this has been tested. Khan has not answered it from the witness box, the doctor has not been cross-examined on his affidavit, and no criminal or professional body has determined anything. Khan and the doctor are presumed innocent.
Evidence postponed to 28 September on conditions, not granted outright (Day 171)
Chairperson Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga declined to grant the postponement on the papers and declined to compel an examination. Per SABC News and the Mail & Guardian he adopted the mechanism used in the Suleiman Carrim matter: Khan's evidence is postponed to Monday 28 September 2026 at 09:30; he must file his outstanding statement by 18 September, the chairperson refusing an open-ended delay on it; and he will be excused from appearing on 28 September only if, by no later than 8 September, he voluntarily undergoes an evaluation by an independent medical specialist agreed between his representatives and the commission's evidence leaders, and that specialist reports that he is unable to testify. His general condition must be disclosed to the commission while the clinical detail may remain confidential. Khan's counsel had resisted an independent assessment, invoking a 'white coat effect' and warning of 'a further cascade of the current condition that is recorded in the latest report'. This is a procedural ruling on how and when evidence is heard. It decides nothing about the allegations against him and he is presumed innocent.
Labour Court bid struck off; disciplinary recommends dismissal (31 August 2026)
On Monday 31 August 2026 Labour Court Judge Connie Prinsloo struck Khan's urgent application off the roll for lack of jurisdiction, alternatively lack of urgency, and ordered his union, the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union, to pay the costs. Per The Citizen and Business Day, the application sought to halt the SAPS disciplinary process against him and challenged the role of KwaZulu-Natal district commissioner Jabulani Khumalo as its chair. The disciplinary proceeded without his participation and, per TimesLIVE, resulted in a finding of guilt on misconduct and bringing the police service into disrepute, with a recommendation that dismissal is the appropriate sanction. A recommendation is not a dismissal, an internal employment finding is not a criminal conviction, and neither decides any allegation before this commission. Khan is presumed innocent.
WhatsApps with the IDAC head put in evidence (Day 150, 29 July 2026)
On the final day of Advocate Andrea Johnson's evidence, WhatsApp exchanges between Khan and the then head of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption were submitted to the commission. In them Khan greets Johnson as 'Hi gorgeous' and 'you gorgeous', the two write about missing one another, arrange dinners and discuss her visiting his home. Commissioners put it to Johnson that the messages showed a far closer and longer-running association than the affable acquaintance she had described on Day 144, and she accepted the relationship was 'very deep' and personal. A personal relationship is not itself misconduct. It is before the commission because of the separate, untested allegation that Johnson - then an NPA prosecutor - caused a 2018 assault docket to be leaked to Khan before he was charged, on which she invoked her right against self-incrimination. Nothing here is a finding; both are presumed innocent.
Shot in an apparent assassination attempt (28 June 2026)
On the night of Sunday 28 June 2026, days before he was due to testify, Khan was shot and wounded - reportedly in the lower body - by gunmen in a Mercedes-Benz in Houghton, Johannesburg, and underwent emergency surgery at Milpark Hospital. SAPS launched a high-level attempted-murder investigation drawing in the Gauteng Hawks, Gauteng Crime Intelligence and the Political Killings Task Team, and the commission said it would engage Khan's lawyers on the way forward for his testimony. No arrests have been reported and a motive has not been established.
Summoned to testify on 1 July 2026
The commission directed Khan to appear from 1 July 2026. Spokesperson Jeremy Michaels said his testimony is 'key to the commission's work, given the very serious allegations which have been made against him,' with several days reserved and Khan to remain until excused by the chairperson.
Discharged from hospital; precious-metals warrant stayed to September
Khan was discharged from hospital around 17 July 2026, roughly three weeks after the shooting, with his lawyers saying they were optimistic he would be fit to face proceedings in September. In the separate illicit-precious-metals matter in the Kempton Park Magistrate's Court, Khan failed to appear on 14 July 2026; the court authorised a warrant for his arrest but stayed it until 2 September 2026, accepting his medical condition. He is out on R20,000 bail in that case alongside Gauteng Hawks head Ebrahim Kadwa and businessman Tariq Downes. These are charges, not findings; Khan is presumed innocent.
Could not appear on 1 July; in-camera bid rejected (Day 130)
When his testimony was due to begin on 1 July 2026, Khan remained in a critical condition at Milpark Hospital - sedated and unable to speak, his lawyers said - and could not appear. His legal team instead pressed an application, filed at 11:04pm on the night he was shot, to have parts of his evidence heard in camera on intelligence-sensitivity grounds. Chairperson Madlanga rejected it as fatally vague - 'We are completely in the dark. It is vague; I could go further and say it is hopeless' - and Advocate Zubair Khan withdrew it, undertaking to refile once Khan can give instructions. The commission also rebuked the team for accusing the inquiry of leaks. The lawyers invited the commissioners to verify Khan's condition in hospital and submitted a J88 medical report and photographs to rebut speculation the shooting was staged. This is a procedural account, not a finding.
Evidence led in his absence: alleged tender facilitation for Mo Sayed (Days 132-133, 3-6 July)
With Khan still hospitalised, the commission began leading evidence against him in his absence on 3 July 2026. Evidence leader Advocate Adila Hassim SC took the commission through WhatsApp chats extracted from Khan's seized phone which she said show him acting as a 'willing facilitator' of government tenders for tobacco businessman Mohamed 'Mo' Sayed: a 12 January 2021 exchange in which Sayed asked how to obtain a SAPS face-mask contract and Khan told him to send prices and samples; a 5 June 2021 message asking Khan to check contract detail from 'Fanie' - suspended SAPS supply-chain divisional commissioner Molefe Fani, who also acted as head of procurement at National Treasury; and 7 July 2021 voice notes about Covid-19 test-kit volumes. Hassim submitted that 'at no point did Khan attempt to reject the arrangement' and pointed to a related IT contract between Treasury and a private company allegedly facilitated by Khan and Fani. This evidence formalises, with the underlying messages, the procurement allegations first set out in the Nyatlo affidavit. All untested; Khan, Sayed and Fani are presumed innocent.
Financial disclosures: from zero vehicles in 2023 to a 30-car fleet in 2024
On 6 July 2026 (Day 133) Hassim told the commission that Khan's financial-disclosure forms lurched from declaring zero vehicles in 2023 to a mixed fleet of about 30 luxury and vintage cars in 2024, with no explanatory comments on the forms. She submitted that the disclosures showed Khan had lived far beyond what a police salary could support. Khan has not answered this before the commission; it is untested.
Alleged unexplained wealth: ~R39m property, a car-parts business and a SAPS tender (Day 134, 7 July)
On 7 July 2026 evidence leader Advocate Adila Hassim SC took the commission through what she called Khan's unexplained wealth: records she said showed income of roughly two-and-a-half times his police salary from undisclosed sources, a car-parts business generating about R3 million a year, some 30 vehicles bought in a single year, and a property portfolio estimated at about R39 million. She further alleged Khan had helped manipulate a tender to supply car parts to SAPS. Khan, hospitalised and unable to appear, has not answered any of this before the commission; it is untested and he is presumed innocent.
Alleged awareness of a ~R3.5m London trip funded for a city official
The commission led evidence (Day 133, 6 July 2026) that Khan was aware of an expensive overseas trip in which politically connected Gauteng businessman Zesimdumise 'Ze' Nxumalo allegedly bankrolled a roughly R3.5 million private-jet weekend to London for former Ekurhuleni city manager Dr Imogen Mashazi. The link to Khan runs through Carnilinx executive Mohamed 'Mo' Sayed, who on 12 October 2022 forwarded Khan the trip's immigration and aviation documents; the funding chain in evidence ran from XET Solutions through Nxumalo's ZIG Revenue Management to the charter operator. Evidence leader Adila Hassim SC stressed there is at this stage no evidence of a quid pro quo - only that a flight of that value 'invites the inference' of an expected return. All of this is untested; Khan, Nxumalo and Mashazi are presumed innocent.
Alleged IDAC interference in a 2018 assault case against him (Day 137, 10 July)
On 10 July 2026 retired Hawks Colonel Kobus Roelofse testified that the head of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC), Advocate Andrea Johnson, interfered in a 2018 assault investigation in which Khan was the suspect. The evidence was that, as an NPA prosecutor, Johnson caused the contents of the police docket to be emailed on 4 July 2018 to a Crime Intelligence officer - 12 images plus an audio file of the docket, the file that some coverage has described as a 'recording' - who printed them and handed them to Khan before he had given his warning statement, allegedly letting him tailor his account. The underlying complaint was laid by Brigadier Leonora Phetlhe, who alleged Khan assaulted her with a pen. Johnson was summoned to answer the allegations at the commission on 13 July 2026 but her testimony was postponed after she was rushed to hospital; chairperson Madlanga dismissed her medical certificate as 'useless', and her no-show drew scrutiny from President Cyril Ramaphosa, who appointed her. On 14-15 July 2026 (Days 139-140) senior IDAC investigator Brian Padayachee took the stand instead and rejected the existence of a so-called 'Khan-IDAC cabal' - an alleged grouping MK Party MP Vusi Shongwe said linked Khan, Johnson, Padayachee and senior investigator Suneel Bellochun - saying 'if such a cabal exists, I am not a party to it', while confirming he knew Khan from their earlier work together in Crime Intelligence. On Day 140 the commission also questioned whether IDAC had jurisdiction to charge Crime Intelligence head Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo at all, with Madlanga calling it 'highly improbable' that Padayachee ran the investigation without a copy of the founding complaint. Johnson herself finally testified over three days from 21 July 2026 (Days 144-146): she said her 'memory needed jogging' on the docket allegation, described Khan as 'very affable' and acknowledged a past social acquaintance including his 50th birthday, but said they had had no contact for about eighteen months after she distanced herself over allegations linking Khan to individuals connected to two murders. She invoked her right against self-incrimination on the Khan-related questions and confirmed the allegations against her and Khan sit in an NPA docket that will decide whether she is prosecuted. These are untested allegations; Khan and Johnson are presumed innocent.
Alleged 'counter' on journalist Marianne Thamm; commission calls for a probe
On 6 July 2026 Hassim asked that investigators probe Khan's possible involvement in the March 2021 burglary at the home of Daily Maverick journalist Marianne Thamm, in which both her laptops were stolen roughly two months after she published on alleged SAPS Covid-19 PPE corruption. Hassim cited a WhatsApp message in which Khan told a contact that 'a counter should be activated on the journalist', adding: 'You can't conclusively show it was linked to the WhatsApp exchange, but the sequence is alarming, and I raise it because it requires further investigation.' She said the record reflected 'a pattern of abusing Crime Intelligence resources for his own personal gains'. These are untested allegations; Khan is presumed innocent.
Alleged R10m bribe offer to MK MP Vusi Shongwe
MK Party MP Vusi Shongwe testified on 30 June 2026 (Day 129) that, as he pressed for Khan to account before Parliament's ad hoc committee, Khan's alleged associates Yusuf Kajee and a man known only as Imran arranged an 8 March 2026 video call from a Durban security firm, dRK Tactical, at which a tearful Khan said 'you are suffocating me'. Shongwe said he was offered a choice of a R2 million Checkers security tender or R10 million in cash, plus two bulletproof BMWs with tinted windows, to be handed over in Sandton on 10 March - which he declined and reported. These are untested allegations Khan has not yet answered before the commission; he is presumed innocent.
Devices seized, court bids withdrawn
SAPS seized electronic devices in Khan's possession around 10-11 May 2026. In early June he brought an urgent Gauteng High Court application to stop the commission and SAPS from accessing the data, and sought to have it heard in camera, before abandoning both applications around 8 June 2026 - after which the commission says it gained access to the devices.
Alleged interference in the Aeroton bust
Witnesses allege Khan interfered in the July 2021 seizure of roughly 715kg of cocaine routed from Durban to Aeroton, after which records reflected a smaller quantity, leaving a large amount unaccounted for. These are untested allegations he has not yet answered before the commission.
Scene-control dispute with Lt-Col Sebola
Lt-Col Nkoana Joseph Sebola testified that Khan involved himself in the Aeroton scene in a way that was 'unusual', and that what should have been a strong case was 'lost'. This is contested witness testimony, not a finding.
Allegedly misled the panel that cleared him
An internal SAPS disciplinary inquiry chaired by Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi had earlier cleared Khan over his conduct at the bust. Warrant Officer Steve Phakula testified that Khan made 'misleading statements' to that panel - the clearance is a procedural fact; the claim that he misled it is an untested allegation.
Alleged links to illegal tobacco trading via Conalinks and Mohammed Sayed
The Nyatlo affidavit (page 009125 of the court record) alleges Khan was connected to illegal tobacco trading through a business called Conalinks, linked to Johannesburg businessman Mohammed Sayed. The affidavit describes messages in which Sayed forwarded Khan a news article about tobacco tax-evaders, followed by an exchange about targeting a journalist covering the illicit trade. Conalinks was also allegedly the source of a R650,000 donation to the EFF and a R2 million advance to Julius Malema. These are untested allegations.
Alleged procurement manipulation - SAPS and National Treasury
The affidavit alleges Sayed used his relationship with Khan to steer government contracts. On 12 January 2021 Sayed reportedly asked Khan how to obtain a SAPS contract to supply branded COVID masks. The affidavit also describes an alleged R280 million IT transversal contract with an alleged kickback of roughly R93 million to be split three ways; Sayed reportedly asked Khan to identify which account a linked tender was saved under, naming recently-suspended SAPS procurement head General Fani. These are untested allegations.
Alleged use of SAPS resources to neutralise a Conalinks tobacco competitor
The affidavit alleges Sayed directed Khan to turn state resources against competitors in the illicit tobacco market. On 11 June 2021 Sayed reportedly identified Proto-Tobacco, a factory in East London, and said they needed to be removed; Khan allegedly replied 'okay, bro.' A subsequent SAPS raid on that factory is alleged by the commission to be connected to this exchange. These are untested allegations.
Alleged sharing of confidential crime intelligence with a private businessman
The affidavit alleges Khan routinely shared confidential SAPS crime intelligence with Mohammed Sayed - a private businessman with no law-enforcement role. The full scope of what was allegedly shared forms part of the commission's ongoing investigation into the seized device data. These are untested allegations.
Alleged collusion to plant Parliamentary questions against Inspector General Dintwe
The affidavit alleges Khan and Sayed coordinated an attempt to remove then Inspector General of Intelligence Dr. Dintwe by planting questions in Parliament designed to trap him into a false statement, after which his removal could be demanded. Khan reportedly sent Sayed a set of prepared questions; Sayed then allegedly forwarded them to Julius Malema under a message reading 'Juju sent me now.' On 7 July 2026 (Day 134) evidence leader Advocate Matthew Chaskalson SC led the underlying WhatsApp messages on the record, including an 11-12 June 2021 exchange of prepared questions in which Khan allegedly wrote 'this should get him to lie, and in return we can ask for his removal coz he lied'. Malema filed a responding affidavit, read into the record, denying that he conspired to orchestrate Dintwe's removal and saying he could not verify the messages' authenticity. These are untested allegations; neither Malema nor Dintwe has been summoned as a commission witness.
Alleged provision of a complainant's personal details to Julius Malema
The affidavit alleges Khan - at Sayed's request - used his authority within SAPS to obtain and pass on the identity and home address of a person who had lodged a complaint against Julius Malema. The affidavit further alleges Malema undertook to campaign to protect Khan's position within Crime Intelligence in connection with the drug-heist investigations. These are untested allegations in a public court document; Khan testifies from 1 July 2026.
