Madlanga Commission Hears Bribery Allegations Against Police Minister Mchunu
JOHANNESBURG, 5 November 2025. The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference, and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System, known as the Madlanga Commission, heard testimony on Wednesday that alleged crime figure Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala had contributed R500,000...
Madlanga Commission Hears Bribery Allegations Against Police Minister Mchunu
JOHANNESBURG, 5 November 2025. The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference, and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System, known as the Madlanga Commission, heard testimony on Wednesday that alleged crime figure Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala had contributed R500,000 towards Police Minister Senzo Mchunu's campaign for the presidency of the African National Congress. The session marked Day 24 of the commission's public proceedings.
The allegations were presented through Witness C, a member of the Political Killings Task Team, who relayed statements attributed to Matlala. The witness also alleged that Matlala had paid suspended deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya up to R1-million per month, and had provided financial benefits to other senior police officers. The testimony additionally raised concerns about the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, commonly known as the Hawks, with allegations that its Tactical Operations Management Section interfered in police investigations.
Neither Minister Mchunu nor his office had publicly responded to the specific allegations as of Wednesday evening. Sibiya, who had been suspended from the South African Police Service in connection with separate misconduct proceedings, had not made public comment on the commission's testimony.
The inquiry also heard from Captain Solomon Modisane regarding the April 2024 murder of engineer Armand Swart, with ballistics evidence linking an AK-47 recovered in Bramley to three additional killings. The commission was informed that SAPS ballistics experts face a backlog exceeding 41,000 unresolved cases, which has hampered criminal investigations across the country.
The Madlanga Commission was established by President Cyril Ramaphosa in July 2025 under retired judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga to investigate allegations of collusion and corruption between politicians, senior police officers, prosecutors, intelligence operatives and elements of the judiciary. The commission has no power to make binding findings of criminal guilt but is mandated to refer evidence to prosecuting authorities.
The inquiry's terms of reference encompass allegations linked to political violence in KwaZulu-Natal, organised crime infiltration of state institutions, and the circumstances surrounding multiple high-profile arrests and prosecutions in recent years.