By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry has warned that ongoing delays are disrupting its schedule and could prevent submission of its interim report within three months.
This comes after KZN Hawks Head Major-General Lesetja Senona testimony moved to 27 January 2026.
Senona has been accused by the commission of aiding alleged criminal kingpin Vusimusi “CAT” Matlala in securing a R360-million SAPS contract.
The commission, established to probe claims of organised criminal infiltration into law-enforcement institutions, has already heard sharp allegations from senior police figures.
According to testimony before the commission, senior officers, including Crime-Intel head, Lt-Gen. Dumisani Khumalo and KZN Commissioner Lt-Gen. Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi previously raised concerns regarding Senona’s conduct.
Their statements, as presented to the commission, suggested that Senona’s alleged associations and decisions may have undermined internal SAPS integrity and operational independence.
The commission is expected to test these claims directly when Senona appears.
Senona’s testimony is anticipated to be one of the inquiry’s most consequential sessions to date, with investigators seeking clarity on how alleged organised-crime networks may have penetrated policing structures and whether senior officials enabled or failed to prevent such infiltration.
On Friday, Acting Deputy National Commissioner for Crime Detection, Hilda Senthumule said Shadrack Sibiya pushed to have CI head Khumalo removed as Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) lead investigator.
“General Sibiya was adamant that actually Khumalo shouldn’t be heading the PKTT. He said it’s a detective matter, which I differ because it’s a combat matter and therefore the dockets must come to me. He was adamant through inquiries, inquisition by asking how far we are, but further he was pre-occupied with the notion that General Khumalo and Crime Intelligence were investigating him and I remember him saying – in Zulu – bayang’gijimisa abafana ba ka Khumalo (The Khumalo boys are chasing me), “said Senthumule.
Senthumule also questioned the sudden disbanding of the PKTT on 31 December — saying the process appeared “irrational and suspicious,” particularly because Mkhwanazi was excluded.
“I have heard that the 121 dockets were brought to head office for verification. I dispute this. The dockets were brought to the head office for proper handover from the PKTT to the detective, and this is and always was my understanding. In hindsight, there entire handover process was not necessary and I think it could have been done differently with the involvement of the provincial commissioner, General Mkhwanazi. I consider the decision to disband the PKTT to be irrational and suspiciously calculated, given General Mkwanazi’s deliberate exclusion,” Senthumule added.
Senthumule suggested that Mkhwanazi is best placed to evaluate the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of teams within his province. She also told the commission that she only had a casual conversation with General Khumalo about transferring the PKTT dockets to the head office.
She added that she was shocked when Khumalo told her he had been instructed, allegedly by suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu, to hand the files to her.
Senthumule criticised the transfer of 121 original dockets from KZN to Pretoria, saying leaders responsible for the files were at fault.
She argued it would have been acceptable to send copies instead, and criticised the handover of the original files without formal instructions.
“I think any leader or commander would actually be at fault if the reason for them moving a docket is just for auditing. We do auditing, those are done at the station. You don’t take a docket from its original place of investigation to where ever to audit,” she said.
She added that the immediate decommissioning of any SAPS project is procedurally flawed.
Previously, Khumalo, told the commission that the unit was abruptly disbanded on 31 December while some members were still on operations.
Senthumule stressed that proper processes must be followed before terminating any project.
In a country where political killings have claimed many lives, losing a team like this without a solid plan raises big questions about priorities, concluded Senthumule.