WATCH: Recording reveals Andrea Johnson calling Madlanga commission a ‘s**t show’

Johnson accused the commissioners of inappropriate conduct during proceedings. A secretly recorded phone conversation between Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) state advocate Drushantha Ramsamy and her former boss, Andrea Johnson, became a focal point at the Madlanga commission. The audio, played on Thursday, 30 July 2026, at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria, formed part of Ramsamy’s testimony. Madlanga commission hears all recording The call, which took place on 22 July 2026 during Johnson’s own testimony, centred on Idac’s investigation into Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo related to the appointment of former BMW employee Dineo Mokwele to a brigadier post. The matter originated from a Section 27 referral submitted in November 2024 by National Coloured Congress (NCC) leader and member of parliament Fadiel Adams. While Adams initially identified three senior police officials, a subsequent Section 28 document introduced eight additional names – raising questions that surfaced during Johnson’s testimony. “I need to understand: where did I get those names? “It’s fine if you say you got it from me, but I don’t know where I got it from,” Johnson told Ramsamy in the phone conversation. The recording reveals Johnson, whom Ramsamy claimed was nicknamed “flip-flop knee-jerk” among Idac staff, describing the strain of her appearance before the commission. She told Ramsamy she had been unwell and requested an early adjournment on the day of her testimony. “I had a panic attack, so for the first time, I’m taking meds for it,” Johnson said, referring to an earlier incident on 13 July when she was hospitalised instead of testifying. Watch the video below: ‘I am as dumb as two bricks’ Furthermore, Johnson suggested that Ramsamy should avoid testifying altogether if called. “If they call you, you leave the country.” She also expressed frustration at her own performance under questioning. “I must have been the dumbest lawyer South Africa has seen,” Johnson said. “I didn’t know section 28. I didn’t know section 27. I am as dumb as two bricks.” S**t show Johnson further raised concerns about remarks made by retired judge and commission chairperson Mbuyiseli Madlanga following her admission that she conceded to applying the wrong legal test in assessing Adams’ referral. “Whether we like it or not, they are going to make our names sh*t anyway ’cause you just see. “Remember, he is a judge and for him to make a comment ‘oh this is basic law 101, and I’m surprised you don’t know it with your 30 years’ experience’,” she said. “I don’t know what to say to that,” Ramsamy responded. “Exactly,” Johnson remarked. She also accused the commissioners of inappropriate conduct during proceedings. “He [Madlanga] makes faces. They laugh with each other while you are still answering. It’s so unprofessional. “We’ll see what we are going to do, but it’s just going to be a s**t show,” Johnson said. Ramsamy details early concerns Beyond the phone call, Ramsamy’s testimony outlined her concerns about how the Khumalo investigation, known as “Project Diversion”, was handled from the beginning. After arrests and bail proceedings in June 2025, she contacted a Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), also known as the Hawks, officer to raise alarms about irregularities. She said she sought to make a protected disclosure and later presented documentation, including a prosecutorial memo linked to the probes into Khumalo and suspended national police commissioner Fannie Masemola relating to Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala’s Medicare24 R360 million tender, known as “Project Diversion.” “The reason I contacted DPCI is because I had previously – in late April 2025 – informed Advocate Santos Manilall, the DDPP [Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions] that I report to, of the discord amongst the team of the Crime Intelligence and that investigation procedures were being flouted and the investigation was sloppy. “He replied that he had his own problems. In August 2025, I started collating documents regarding what I considered to be unlawful instructions from Advocate Johnson and Mr [Idac chief investigator Dylan] Perumal regarding Project Diversion,” Ramsamy told the commission. Internal warnings and fallout Ramsamy testified her concerns were not uniformly addressed within the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). While DDPP Peter Serunye acted on her warnings, leading to her removal from the case, another dismissed them outright. “I also approached another DDPP and showed him all the documentation that [was] concerning. He stated that ‘these things will never see the light of day’.” Following Johnson’s later testimony before Parliament’s ad hoc committee in November 2025, Ramsamy again contacted the Hawks. “I informed him that Advocate Johnson had lied to the ad hoc committee and I had proof of this.” She met with the DPCI member in March 2026 after the appointment of National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Andy Mothibi. “The reason I mention this is because I do not want the narrative to be that I am retaliating against Advocate Johnson for making me the scapegoat or that I am only dragging forward with this information now that my name has been dragged through the mud.” Claims of protection Ramsamy testified that she delayed coming forward until after former NDPP Shamila Batohi left office, believing “nothing would have been done” against Johnson under her leadership. “Advocate Johnson was the blue-eyed girl of Advocate Batohi. She could do no wrong. “If needs be or if the commission so sees fit, if you look at any grievance that was sent about Idac from the staff members, it was squashed to a point that people just started resigning,” the Idac prosecutor told the commission. “Now that Advocate Mothibi is there, we are a little braver to come forward about these things that we are being instructed to do,” Ramsamy later added.