The Ad Hoc Committee established to investigate allegations made by the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, yesterday continued its public hearings, with input from the former head of finance in the police’s Crime Intelligence secret services account, Mr Tiyani Hlungwani.
Mr Hlungwani, who said he was in charge of what was called a “slush fund”, told the committee his problems intensified when he allegedly refused to authorise R45 million from the fund to buy a grabber machine and to fund a faction of the African National Congress at the party’s 2017 elective national conference in Nasrec.
The grabber would have been used to intercept communications, among other functions, and what is more, intelligence operatives have a document that points to this matter, Mr Hlungwani alleged. However, while he was reviewing monies in the fund, he was removed from his position, leaving him with no time to take this proof as evidence. “When I was busy conducting a review of those monies, I was removed,” he said.
Another witness, Mr Mesuli Mlandu, a special projects adviser in the City of Johannesburg’s office of the city manager, testified last night about the allegedly unlawful employment of suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya as group head of the City’s Forensic and Investigation Services.
Mr Mlandu told the committee he uncovered irregularities through whistle-blowers, document reviews and internal data analysis after joining the city. Since 2019, before they became a national concern, he noted that he has been dealing with the alleged rogue and unlawful activities of Lt-Gen Sibiya.
He further stated that former Johannesburg mayor Mr Herman Mashaba and former CoJ group head for legal services Mr Mbulelo Ruda allegedly committed fraud valued at about R3.5m. He told the committee that despite Lt-Gen Sibiya failing a competency assessment on 22 November 2017 in which he was deemed unsuitable even for the junior position of unit head, a report signed by Mr Ruda and Mr Mashaba in January 2017 facilitated Lt-Gen Sibiya’s role in a senior position.
He further alleged that Lt-Gen Sibiya also used a “bogus” title to exercise authority that was never approved by the city council. In addition, he claimed that Lt-Gen Sibiya engaged in the unauthorised procurement and deployment of spyware that is only authorised for possession and use by the State Security Agency.
Mr Mandla also alleges that the process followed in 2016 to appoint Lt-Gen Sibiya as group head was fundamentally flawed, in that the Lt-Gen was interviewed on 7 November 2016 and appointed the next day and by January 2017, he was masquerading as a head of department. He went on to accuse the National Prosecuting Authority and the Public Protector of not acting on the information and evidence he provided.
The public hearings will continue on Tuesday, 3 February 2026.
Rajaa Azzakani
30 January 2026
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