Malema named in Feroz Khan summons as Madlanga Commission probes alleged bid to shield him
EFF leader Julius Malema’s name has emerged in the Madlanga Commission’s investigation into Crime Intelligence deputy head, Major-General Feroz Khan.
The newly released court papers reveal that Khan will be required to account for his relationship with the opposition party leader.
The Madlanga Commission has released a 750-page bundle of court papers linked to Khan’s summons to appear before the inquiry, including extracts from an affidavit by commission investigator Tshepo Nyatlo detailing WhatsApp conversations involving Khan, tobacco businessman Mohammed Sayed and Malema.
The documents were released after Khan abandoned an urgent court application brought in May to stop the commission and SAPS from accessing electronic devices seized from him.
The papers refer to communications between Khan and Sayed, including discussions around police investigations and a proposed SAPS-branded face mask tender during the COVID-19 pandemic.
They also include conversations between Sayed and Malema relating to parliamentary questions involving former Police Minister Bheki Cele and allegations concerning his links to convicted drug trafficker Timmy Marimuthu.
According to Nyatlo’s affidavit, some questions later submitted to Cele by former EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi were first drafted by Khan before being submitted to Parliament.
But the commission’s questions to Khan go beyond the contents of the WhatsApp exchanges.
In the summons issued to Khan, the commission requires him to explain “the nature of your relationship with Mr Malema” and whether Malema undertook to campaign politically to protect him from disciplinary action for financial misconduct while Khan controlled the accounts of the Crime Intelligence Division, or at any stage.
Khan is required to explain the nature of those relationships, how often he communicated with the individuals, the methods of communication used, the purpose of those interactions, and how often they met, where those meetings took place and why.
The summons further requires Khan to disclose details of any financial exchanges, exchanges of information or any other exchanges between himself and the listed individuals, whether directly or indirectly.
The commission also wants Khan to reveal whether he communicated with any of the individuals through intermediaries and, if so, who those intermediaries were and why they were used.
The questions around Malema form part of a wider investigation into Khan’s alleged relationships with people outside SAPS and whether there was any sharing of influence, information or access.
Khan has also been ordered to answer questions about his relationship with Sayed and companies linked to him, including Carnilinx, Onyx Aviation, Cyberia, Smada and Branded World.
The commission wants clarity on whether Khan facilitated access to SAPS or National Treasury procurement processes, whether SAPS resources were used to assist Sayed, and whether confidential police information was shared.
Khan is also expected to address his role in the 2021 Aeroton cocaine bust, where approximately 700 kilograms of suspected cocaine were seized in Johannesburg.
The summons requires him to explain how he became aware of the operation, who he contacted, his actions at the scene, his interactions with SAPS members and allegations that he interfered with the operation.
The commission is also investigating the later loss of approximately 136 kilograms of the seized cocaine from the Silverton Forensic Services Laboratory.
Khan is scheduled to appear before the Madlanga Commission on 1 July 2026, where he is expected to respond to the issues raised in the summons.
The allegations contained in the papers have not yet been tested through evidence before the commission.
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