Johnson concedes IDAC solicited complaint that sparked probe into Khumalo
The head of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC), Andrea Johnson, has conceded that the directorate solicited a Section 27 complaint from National Coloured Congress (NCC) leader and MP Fadiel Adams.
This ultimately sparked the investigation into Crime Intelligence boss Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo and several senior officers.
The investigation focused on allegations that Khumalo and his colleagues orchestrated the irregular appointment of Dineo Mokwele to a senior technical post within Crime Intelligence.
Johnson made the concession before the Madlanga Commission on Wednesday after initially disputing that IDAC had solicited the complaint.
However, under sustained questioning from Commission Chairperson Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga and his co commissioners, she acknowledged that the directorate had approached Adams and asked him to submit the Section 27 affidavit.
The commission heard that before Adams submitted the affidavit, IDAC had already received correspondence from the office of Police Minister Senzo Mchunu who is now on special leave.
The letter, signed by the minister's Chief of Staff Cedric Nkabinde in November 2024, asked IDAC to consider complaints Adams had raised about alleged corruption within Crime Intelligence and concerns that police dockets had been intercepted.
Johnson testified that after receiving the letter, she instructed IDAC investigator Dylan Perumal to contact Adams because the directorate could not investigate the allegations without a Section 27 referral.
According to Johnson, Perumal informed Adams that IDAC could not assist in the absence of a Section 27 referral and advised him to seek legal guidance if he wished to pursue the matter.
Adams later submitted the affidavit, which became the basis of IDAC's investigation.
The sequence of events came under intense scrutiny, with Madlanga questioning why Johnson did not simply inform the minister's office that IDAC could not investigate without a formal referral instead of contacting Adams to obtain one.
Madlanga also questioned Johnson's interpretation of Mchunu's letter, suggesting it related to Adams' allegations that police dockets had been intercepted, rather than directing IDAC to investigate the underlying corruption allegations against senior Crime Intelligence officials.
"A sensible reading of this letter is that the allegations contained therein refer to the correspondence addressed to the minister," Madlanga said.
The commission also questioned how the investigation evolved from allegations of intercepted dockets to a broader corruption investigation into Khumalo and other senior Crime Intelligence officers.
Johnson maintained that she was never intimidated by Mchunu and denied acting under pressure from the minister's office.
She insisted the Section 27 referral was a legal requirement before IDAC could formally investigate the matter and maintained that the directorate followed the necessary legal process once Adams submitted the affidavit.
Earlier in her testimony, Johnson also admitted that IDAC is not supposed to solicit Section 27 referrals from members of the public.
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