REPORT CARD: Grading Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s cartel claims, 14 months later

A dramatic resignation, suspensions and relentless suspicions keep adding weight to KwaZulu-Natal police boss Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s staggering infiltration accusations.When he sparked South Africa’s unprecedented law enforcement scandal in July 2025 – alleging that a cartel had penetrated South Africa’s criminal justice sector, politics and private arena – some were sceptical.There were even those who thought that Mkhwanazi was cunningly constructing a grand hoax to distract from other deep state criminality.Now, 14 months later, although some are still unsure about him and his motives, it is becoming clear that some of Mkhwanazi’s accusations were spot-on – and this overall scandal just keeps growing.Warning vs ‘mind game’Mkhwanazi’s infiltration stance essentially split the country’s law enforcement (and political arena) into two main factions: one that backs him and another that’s against him.Take, for example, suspended deputy national commissioner of crime detection Shadrack Sibiya, who previously told Parliament: “General Mkhwanazi is playing the country and he’s playing a mind game [with] the country … because he knows how to play with words.”Sibiya – whose actions and alleged links to someone accused of being involved in organised crime came under scrutiny at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry – has since been referred for disciplinary processes and criminal investigation.The countering theory against Mkhwanazi was that he made the cartel infiltration accusations to distract from Crime Intelligence malfeasance and slush fund looting.According to Mkhwanazi’s stance, though, that theory was used to maliciously target certain Crime Intelligence officers.Recently, criminal charges against a group of those officers were withdrawn, meaning the scales of justice are tipping towards Mkhwanazi’s stance.Here we test some of the key accusations (and peripheral allegations) that he initially made last year against what has since ­happened.Report cardAccusation: A drug cartel, along with colluding businesspeople, controlled a syndicate involving politicians and law enforcement, including national and metro police officers, correctional services officers, prosecutors and the judiciary.Development: The Madlanga Commission and Parliament’s ad hoc committee were formed to investigate these and other related accusations.Finding: Several individuals implicated in this broader scandal now face criminal complaints and mounting accusations. Some have been arrested, placed on leave and/or suspended. They include politicians, law enforcers and business figures, suggesting there is truth to aspects of this overall accusation.Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala testifies at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry at Brigette Mabandla Judicial College on 17 August 2026 in Pretoria, South Africa. (File photo: Frennie Shivambu / Gallo Images) Accusation: The controlling drug cartel was identified as the Big Five. To climb cartel ranks, its members apparently register private security companies, for reasons including access to firearms.Development: Some Big Five suspects have been named – they include Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and Katiso Molefe, who both face various criminal charges. The Big Five was allegedly headed by politically connected taxi boss Jothan (also spelled Jotham) Msibi, who died in 2024. As for private security, the regulatory authority overseeing the sector announced an industry crackdown in 2025. This was sparked when irregularities around Matlala’s security company were picked up.Finding: Although more details are yet to emerge about the Big Five, this name surfaced decades ago and was applied to alleged drug traffickers. This suggests the Big Five that has been outed may be another iteration of those groups. It’s long been known that criminal elements are embedded in private security.Senzo Mchunu at Madlanga Commission Of Inquiry at Brigitte Mabandla Judicial College on 5 December 2025 in Pretoria, South Africa. (File photo: Frennie Shivambu/Gallo Images) Accusation: Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala was financially supporting the political ambitions of the police minister at the time, Senzo Mchunu, and an acquaintance of Mchunu’s, ANC-aligned information peddler Brown Mogotsi.Development: Mchunu was sidelined shortly after these accusations surfaced. But he denied that Matlala was funding him and described Mogotsi as someone he knew simply as a “comrade”. Matlala now faces various unrelated criminal charges, including for attempted murder and a dodgy police tender, and Mogotsi is also in state custody because he was accused of faking his own attempted assassination.Finding: Although it is still unclear whether Matlala was funding Mchunu’s political ambitions, the state clearly views Matlala and Mogotsi as alleged criminals.Accusation: Criminals influenced Mchu­­nu to issue a directive at the end of 2024 ordering the disbandment of KwaZulu-Natal’s Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), which they thought was investigating them.Development: Mchunu denied this, along with the Matlala political funding accusation, but President Cyril Ramaphosa nevertheless placed him on special leave.Finding: So far, the accusation has not been conclusively proved or disregarded, but other police officers have said that Mchunu acted without authorisation when issuing the PKTT disbandment directive.Senior Crime Intelligence Officer, Feroz Khan appears at Kempton Park Magistrate's Court on 11 May 2026 in Kempton Park, South Africa. (File photo: OJ Koloti/Gallo Images) Accusation: “General Khan” fits into these broader shady dealings.Development: This was a reference to senior Crime Intelligence officer Feroz Khan. The Madlanga Commission has since heard mounting accusations against Khan, from his alleged association with tobacco kingpins to politicians. Khan also faces criminal charges in an illicit precious metals case. He was wounded in a shooting towards the end of June this year, meaning he was unable to testify at the Madlanga Commission as scheduled.Finding: Khan now faces sprawling accusations, not just those Mkhwanazi made. On Wednesday, 2 September, Khan was dismissed from the South African Police Service for failing to appear before an officer dealing with a disciplinary process. eNCA reported that his lawyers may challenge this.The big investigative bodiesKwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlan­­hla Mkhwanazi’s cartel infiltration accusations of July 2025 sparked:- The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry: This is on a brief break until 14 September. It is still hearing witness testimony and aims to wrap up its hearings by early October. It will then complete a report that will be presented to President Cyril Ramaphosa.- Parliament’s ad hoc committee: It finished hearing witness testimony earlier this year and is expected to wrap up a report on its work by 11 September if its deadline is not extended again.Accusation: A rogue element was running through the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac).Development: The directorate’s head at the time, Andrea Johnson, initially denied this and insisted it was not conducting a “witch-hunt” against certain police officers. She later conceded legal processes linked to pivotal Crime Intelligence arrests were flawed. Johnson resigned as Idac head in July as accusations against her mounted. She seemed close to Khan.Finding: Mkhwanazi, it appears, was correct.IDAC Head Andrea Johnson testifies at the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee inquiry into alleged corruption and political interference in the criminal justice system at Good Hope Chambers on 6 November 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Brenton Geach/Gallo Images). Accusation: Brian Padayachee, a former Crime Intelligence officer who joined Idac, oversaw a criminal case against senior Crime Intelligence officers about an allegedly irregular appointment, including its then head Dumisani Khumalo. Those officers were arrested. Mkhwanazi suggested this case was maliciously driven.Development: Padayachee was among those subsequently suspended in this overall scandal. The criminal charges against Khumalo and his colleagues were unconditionally withdrawn in August.Finding: The developments suggest that Mkhwanazi was correct – that certain Idac officers were pursuing Crime Intelligence officers without the necessary facts to substantiate their actions.Accusation: Crime Intelligence officers released classified documents (containing allegations against colleagues) to a member of Parliament. It later turned out that this member was National Coloured Congress leader Fadiel Adams, who has previously spoken against Mkhwanazi.Development: Adams said the information was slipped under his office door. This ultimately saw him lodging complaints against Crime Intelligence officers, including Khumalo, who Idac arrested. These are the charges that were recently withdrawn. Adams conceded he may have been used in a broader plot. Meanwhile, he is facing ­criminal accusations relating to a murder investigation.Finding: Whether Adams was a pawn – he believes certain Idac members used him – or an active participant in a plot targeting specific Crime Intelligence officers, he was indeed involved in this part of the scandal.Source: Caryn DolleyHand holding paper. (Photo: The Yudel Media/iStock)Pass with distinctionOverall, when weighing up these accusations against developments, Mkhwanazi comes across as having delivered a necessary warning to South Africa in July 2025.Among his initial assertions was that the state-infiltrating cartel, the Big Five, had its headquarters in Gauteng and was importing drugs from South America through the port of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal.Daily Maverick has previously reported on how global drug traffickers seem to favour that port. Cocaine, especially from Brazil, has repeatedly been intercepted in Durban.Various police officers, meanwhile, have testified at the Madlanga Commission about their concerns that certain colleagues, either by intent or negligence, contributed to critical cocaine investigations being thwarted.It does indeed appear that some were complicit in underhanded activities.‘Incomprehensible’There is the case involving cocaine worth more than R200-million that was stolen from a walk-in safe in the poorly protected offices of the Hawks in Port Shepstone in 2021.A suspect, Lucas Legabe (49), was arrested last month, but no police officers have been held accountable for the improper storage of the massive drug consignment.This week Godfrey Lebeya, the Hawks head at the time, essentially told the Madlanga Commission he did nothing wrong in this saga, despite no internal action against officers.Commissioner Sesi Baloyi hit back at him: “These drugs got lost and that was the end of the story. Nobody faced any consequence…“Sitting here, it’s incomprehensible to me that so [many] exhibits get lost in a situation where the crime scene was horribly mis­handled.”So, Mkhwanazi seems to have been on the money about certain drug matters too.As things stand, some of his accusations pass as fact, whereas others need more detail for a thorough grading. There are also those who are still uncertain of Mkhwanazi’s true intentions beneath his accusations.What is still to emerge from the Madlanga Commission, criminal investigations and related court cases will inevitably fill in some blanks. DM