Witness
Named in evidence as an associate of Police Minister Senzo Mchunu · KwaZulu-Natal
Named in evidence
A man the Madlanga Commission had not heard of until the afternoon of 21 August 2026, when Lieutenant-Colonel Deenadayalan Govender of the Hawks named him from the witness box. Govender's evidence, reported by the Daily Maverick and IOL, is that Ntandane is close to Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, that he approached Govender repeatedly and pressed him to give evidence implicating KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi in a series of police shootings, and that at a meeting the day before Govender testified he telephoned the minister and handed Govender the phone. Govender said he holds a recording of his conversation with Ntandane. Nothing in that account has been tested by the commission. Ntandane has not given evidence, has not been summoned on the public record, and has not publicly answered the allegation. He is presumed innocent, and this page records what was said about him, not a finding.
This profile summarises testimony and evidence given on the public record before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. It restates allegations as presented at the hearings and is not a finding of guilt, liability, or wrongdoing by any person.
Their role
Govender told the commission that Ntandane, whom he described as an acquaintance close to Mchunu, approached him more than once and pressed him to tell the commission that the KwaZulu-Natal shootings had been carried out on Mkhwanazi's instructions. This is an allegation made from the witness box. It has not been tested, Ntandane has not answered it, and he is presumed innocent.
On Govender's account the pair met the day before he took the stand, in a conversation that ran roughly eighty minutes, and Ntandane then telephoned Mchunu and handed the phone over. Govender said he recognised the minister's voice from previous conversations. Mchunu has rejected the account outright, telling the Daily Maverick the allegation was made without evidence and that he rejected it with the contempt it deserved. The commission has heard one side of this and has made no finding.
Per IOL, Govender told the commission he has a recording of his conversation with Ntandane. As at 24 August 2026 no recording had been played in the hearing room and its contents are not on the public record. Until it is produced and tested, it is a claim about evidence rather than evidence.
Connections
Head of the Hawks' KwaZulu-Natal provincial tracing team; former commander of the province's cash-in-transit task team, South African Police Service
Govender's Day 164 evidence is the sole public source for the allegations recorded on this page. They are untested.
View profile →The minister he is said to be close toMinister of Police (on special leave)
Govender described Ntandane as close to Mchunu and said Ntandane placed the call in which the minister allegedly spoke to him. Mchunu has denied the account.
View profile →The commissioner Govender says he was pressed to implicateKwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner
The alleged object of the approaches was evidence naming Mkhwanazi as the source of instructions for the KwaZulu-Natal shootings.
View profile →Sources