By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Kwazulu-Natal (KZN) Hawks boss, Major General Lesetja Senona, testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry has been postponed to January 2026.
The decision was announced during proceedings on Wednesday, 26 November 2025, following a request from Senona’s lawyers for more time to prepare.
Senona faces allegations of assisting criminal tycoon Vusimusi Matlala in securing the controversial R360 million SAPS tender.
Crime intelligence head Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo and KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi both told the commission that they had raised internal concerns about Senona’s conduct.
Their statements suggested that decisions linked to the Hawks Head may have compromised operational independence and internal policing integrity.
Senona’s testimony is expected to become one of the most critical sessions for the commission. The Investigators want to understand how a suspected criminal network could have influenced policing structures, as well as whether senior officials allowed it to happen or failed to intervene when warning signs appeared.
Earlier, commission spokesperson Jeremy Michaels said Senona will start his testimony on Wednesday at 10am instead of the usual 9.30am “due to a technical issue”.
Michaels said, the moment Khumalo’s evidence touched on Senona, the commission initiated a standard but consequential process: issuing a Rule 3 notice.
“As a matter of course, “Michaels said, “once individuals are implicated in testimony, the commission notifies them via a Rule 3 notice, which sets out the allegations and allows them to respond.”
In Senona’s case, that notice landed swiftly after Khumalo’s evidence and immediately triggered what would become a protracted legal tug-of-war.
For weeks, Michaels confirmed, the commission lawyers and Senona’s legal team traded correspondence, documents, and competing interpretations of what should be disclosed, what had already been furnished, and whether Senona would be compelled to testify before submitting a formal statement.
“There has been a back-and-forth between commission’s legal team and Senona’s legal representatives for several weeks,” Michaels said.
Michaels also said suspended Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi was scheduled to appear on Thursday, but he has requested further time to prepare his testimony.
As a result, Madlanga ruled that the commission will not sit on Thursday due to the unavailability of a witness.
He ruled that on Friday, the commission will hear testimony from Lt-Gen HK Senthumule, the South African Police Service (SAPS) divisional commissioner of detective and forensic services, regarding the infamous 121 case dockets of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT).
Michaels added that next week the commission will hear testimony from Mkhwanazi, other EMPD witnesses, and further testimony on the disbandment decision of the PKTT.