Hearing record
Day 137
Witness: Major-General Feroz Khan
A retired Hawks colonel tells the commission that the country's top anti-corruption prosecutor, Andrea Johnson, leaked a docket to shield General Feroz Khan in 2018 - and a second officer says a former national prosecutions head blocked the probe into her.
The day in brief
What you need to know
- Retired Hawks Colonel Kobus Roelofse testified that IDAC head Advocate Andrea Johnson interfered in a 2018 assault case in which General Feroz Khan was the suspect.
- As an NPA prosecutor, Johnson allegedly caused the police docket to be emailed to a Crime Intelligence officer and handed to Khan before he had given his warning statement - letting him 'tailor his account'.
- The complaint arose from Brigadier Leonora Phetlhe's report that Khan assaulted her with a pen at Crime Intelligence headquarters in 2018.
- Hawks officer Mark McLean testified that then National Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Shamila Batohi allegedly blocked the Hawks' probe into Johnson.
- The commission granted two further protected witnesses, 'Witness N' and 'Witness O', partial in-camera protection.
- All allegations are untested; Khan, Johnson and Batohi are presumed innocent and have not answered them before the commission.
Full coverage
The day, in depth
The docket that reached Khan first
Retired Hawks Colonel Kobus Roelofse - one of four police officers to testify this day - told the commission that Advocate Andrea Johnson, now head of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC), interfered in a 2018 assault investigation in which suspended Crime Intelligence deputy head Major-General Feroz Khan was the suspect. The complaint came from Brigadier Leonora Phetlhe, who alleged Khan had assaulted her with a pen at Crime Intelligence headquarters. Roelofse's evidence was that Johnson, then an NPA prosecutor, caused the contents of the police docket - twelve images and an audio file - to be emailed on 4 July 2018 to a Crime Intelligence officer, who printed them and handed them to Khan before he had given his warning statement, allegedly allowing him to tailor his account. It is this audio file inside the docket that some later coverage would describe as a 'secret recording'.
'Batohi blocked the probe'
Hawks officer Mark McLean added a second, higher-reaching allegation: that then National Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Shamila Batohi had blocked the Hawks' investigation into Johnson, prompting him to wait for a change at the top of the NPA before pursuing an out-of-province prosecutor. Batohi is not a commission witness and has not answered the claim; it is untested.
Two more protected witnesses
The commission ruled that two further witnesses, referred to only as 'Witness N' and 'Witness O', would give parts of their evidence in camera on safety grounds - the latest in a lengthening line of protected witnesses in the Crime Intelligence strand of the inquiry.
On the record
Who testified this day
Follow the threads
Who Major-General Feroz Khan connects to
Witness I
Witness I, the protected Hawks team leader on the 2021 Aeroton bust, testified that Khan hijacked the scene and that he was offered a promotion to change his statement. Untested allegations; presumed innocent.
View profile →Named in his testimonyLieutenant Colonel Nkoana Joseph Sebola
Sebola disputed who controlled the Aeroton scene and described Khan's involvement as 'unusual'; Khan is summoned to answer that evidence.
View profile →Named together in the Nyatlo affidavitMohammed Sayed
The commission's supporting affidavit alleges a sustained relationship: Sayed directed procurement approaches to Khan, forwarded intelligence targets, and allegedly coordinated political interference across multiple matters including the Inspector General and Malema complainant threads.
View profile →Named together in the Nyatlo affidavitJulius Malema
The summons asks Khan to explain his relationship with Malema and whether Malema undertook to campaign politically to protect him. Both deny wrongdoing; untested allegations.
View profile →Accused by himSamuel Mashaba
Gauteng traffic chief Mashaba testified that Khan tried to take credit for the Aeroton bust and did not get the briefing from his team. Khan denies wrongdoing; untested allegations.
View profile →Alleged bribe offer to himVusi Shongwe
MK Party MP Shongwe testified on 30 June 2026 that Khan and his associates offered him a R10m bribe (or a R2m tender) and two armoured BMWs to stop pursuing Khan's appearance before Parliament. Untested allegations; Khan is presumed innocent.
View profile →IDAC investigator who denied a 'cabal' with himColonel Brian Padayachee
Padayachee, who led IDAC's case against Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo, rejected an alleged 'Khan-IDAC cabal' at the commission and confirmed he knew Khan from prior Crime Intelligence work. Untested allegation.
View profile →Alleged to have shielded him (2018)Advocate Andrea Johnson
IDAC head Andrea Johnson is alleged to have leaked a 2018 assault-case docket to Khan before he was charged; she was summoned to answer this but her testimony was postponed. Untested allegations; both presumed innocent.
View profile →In the room & on the record
Counsel, the panel and sources
On the panel
- Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga (chairperson)