Ramaphosa effectively blocks IGI from testifying on criminal claims against top cops Masemola, Khumalo

Suspended Inspector General of Intelligence (IGI) Imtiaz Fazel was due to testify at the ad hoc committee last week, but at a housekeeping meeting, evidence leader advocate Norman Arendse revealed that his testimony would not be heard as President Cyril Ramaphosa and Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia had not permitted him to appear.

According to the SABC, Fazel had written to the committee to say he was not lawfully entitled to disclose any relevant information.

“It is clear that both the minister and the acting DG (acting Director-General of the State Security Agency Ambassador Tony (Gab) Msimanga) are opposed to me appearing before the committee at this stage. In the circumstances, I cannot appear before the committee,” Fazel wrote.

He said Ramaphosa and other ministers were against his testifying. Cachalia has sought a legal opinion on the issue.

News24 has revealed that before he was suspended, Fazel recommended disciplinary and criminal charges against national police commissioner Fannie Masemola and Crime Intelligence boss Dumisani Khumalo over five properties bought by Crime Intelligence for more than R120-million in 2023 and 2024.

According to News24, the IGI’s report found the purchases “revealed a series of material procurement irregularities and contraventions of legal prescripts pertaining to the Public Finance Management Act, Treasury regulations, supply chain management processes and supply chain management instruction notes”, resulting in the irregular expenditure of more than R120-million.

The funds were allegedly spent from the Crime Intelligence Secret Services Account, and the deviations were allegedly approved by Masemola.

The ad hoc committee, running alongside the Madlanga Commission, is investigating KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s allegations that law enforcement and political circles have been infiltrated by criminal cartels.

Masemola and Khumalo have appeared to emerge as allies of Mkhwanazi, who went public in July 2026 about his claims that the Political Killings Task Team was closed by sidelined police minister Senzo Mchunu, due to criminal influences.

Shortly before Mkhwanazi’s explosive press conference, Khumalo and other Crime Intelligence officials were arrested over an allegedly irregular staffing appointment, allegations which they denied. Khumalo was removed as Crime Intelligence head, but was later reinstated.

‘Legal opinion’

When asked about the IGI’s appearance at the ad hoc committee, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told Daily Maverick last week: “He has asked to reveal classified material to the committee in terms of the Act. Thus, he has an obligation to consult the President and the [police] minister on the information he wants to share.

“This is not something the President and the minister can decide without careful attention to the material and the impact of its publication, notwithstanding the fact that he does not have the necessary security clearance to make this request. The President is applying his mind in this regard to ensure that we remain compliant with the applicable laws.”

With the committee’s public hearings wrapping up this week, Ramaphosa and Cachalia’s decision to seek a legal opinion effectively means that Fazel will not appear.

Fazel was suspended in October 2025 by Ramaphosa, pending a “decision in an investigation by Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence (JSCI) into the Inspector-General’s conduct”. That committee, of course, operates behind closed doors.

City Press reported that Fazel’s security clearance had been revoked by the State Security Agency three weeks before he was placed on suspension. That publication also revealed that Fazel had been accused of leaking an investigation to the media and the committee.

Masemola responds

Masemola testified at the ad hoc committee on Tuesday, 17 March, that the IGI report into the R120-million had been leaked from Fazel’s office. He said he’d never received the report.

When asked about the property transactions issue on Tuesday, Masemola said he and Crime Intelligence management appeared before the secret Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence.

Masemola told MPs he couldn’t go into the details of what was shared, but “we did a show and tell presentation, step by step”. He claimed the committee was “quite satisfied” with the presentation.

The police boss added that “there [are] no procurement irregularities” in the transactions.

Instead, he claimed that because the Crime Intelligence slush fund was lucrative, there had been several allegations of wrongdoing against those who ran it. He said that “they want the opportunity to commit crime”, without explaining who he was referring to.

Testifying previously at the ad hoc committee, Khumalo has also claimed that there was a coordinated misinformation campaign against him due to his efforts to clean up the notorious unit.

On Wednesday, Mkhwanazi, the ad hoc committee’s first witness, will return to answer questions. Thereafter, the committee will focus on writing a recommendations report. That report will be tabled in Parliament, and MPs will vote to implement or throw out any recommendations. DM