By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
KwaZulu-Natal Hawks Lieutenant Colonel Deenadayalan “Deena” Govender will testify in an open hearing at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Monday, 31 August 2026.
Govender had asked for portions of his evidence to be heard in camera when he recently appeared before the commission.
However, the commission’s chairperson Mbuyiseli Madlanga ruled that the commander must testify in an open session.
“The application to hear evidence relating to responses to paragraphs 2.4 and 2.5 of the Commission’s Regulation 10(6) Notice, dated August 7, 2026, in camera was refused.”
“The applicant must therefore give evidence on those matters in an open hearing at 9.30am on Monday. The ruling includes several qualifications,” the ruling states.
Madlanga delivered the ruling on Sunday, 30 August 2026, ahead of Govender’s return to the hot seat on Monday.
Although Govender’s evidence will largely be heard in public, the commission has placed restrictions on what he may be required to disclose.
He will not have to identify witnesses connected to the investigation into the theft of a large cocaine consignment from the Hawks’ Port Shepstone offices.
The commission heard that Govender, received several suspicious cash payments between August 2022 and December 2023.
This was revealed by Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) deputy director of investigations Len John.
He said there’s evidence pointing to that Govender had been promised a R2.5 million payment by M Tow truck company owner and suspected drug dealer, Clive Naiker, to kill his rival Bevan Loftus.
The evidence relating to testimony given in camera by Witness P about a counter intelligence operation involving organised drug gangs in the Durban area will be heard in camera on August 31, or on another date determined by the commission.
Meanwhile the controversial Crime Intelligence deputy head Major-General Feroz Khan has been readmitted to a Johannesburg hospital, nearly two months after he was shot and seriously wounded in Houghton.
Khan had been subpoenaed to appear before the commission this week and was recently served with a further Rule 3 notice requiring him to answer additional questions.
According to reports, Khan remains under medical and psychiatric treatment following the shooting, in which a bullet entered his lower back and lodged close to his spine.
He underwent emergency surgery and was hospitalised at Netcare Milpark Hospital until 17 July.
While his injuries were described as life-threatening, doctors stressed that his discharge from hospital did not mean that he had recovered.
His reported return comes as the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) has officially supported Khan approaching the Labour Court over a disciplinary process that the union said could result in the injured senior Crime Intelligence officer losing his income and eventually being discharged from the police service.