Madlanga Commission | Khan’s health, Lebeya’s cocaine probe take centre stage.

The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry has postponed the testimony of suspended Crime Intelligence deputy head, Major-General Feroz Khan, to 28 September.

This follows Khan’s failure to appear before the commission on Tuesday, amid reports that he was readmitted to hospital over the weekend.

Khan was initially admitted to hospital in June, after he was shot on 3rd Avenue in Houghton, Johannesburg, just days before he was due to testify after being implicated by previous witnesses.

He spent several weeks recovering from his injuries and was discharged in July.

Meanwhile the commission has also ordered that more information about Khan’s medical condition be disclosed.

Commission chairperson, Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, on Tuesday examined details contained in Khan’s backdated medical reports as he considered the reasons for his failure to appear before the inquiry.

Khan’s lawyers told the commission that his doctors are unable to determine when he will make a full recovery, but believe he could be fit to testify from 1 October.

However, Madlanga says the commission cannot simply wait until then, insisting that it needs to be properly informed about Khan’s condition.

“I will not say that the commission is going to force General Khan to subject himself to being examined by an independent doctor, but rather a ruling similar to that that which was made in respect of Mr. Carrim is what must be issued here as well.

“But a qualification that I am going to make and which must be captured in the draft ruling, is that General Khan’s condition must be disclosed, but what must not be disclosed are the details concerning that condition,” Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga said.

Meanwhile, former Hawks head, Dr Godfrey Lebeya, has distanced himself from controversial businessman, Panganathan “Timmy” Marimuthu.

Testifying before the commission, Lebeya said he first became aware of the convicted drug dealer in December 2010, when Marimuthu was allegedly appointed irregularly as a Crime Intelligence official.

At the time, Lebeya was tasked with investigating irregular appointments within the South African Police Service (SAPS) unit.

He told the commission that although 250 posts had been advertised, 290 people were ultimately appointed.

Lebeya says Marimuthu was among those appointed despite instructions from within the SAPS unit that certain individuals should not be appointed.

Lebeya has also told the commission that he cannot recall former KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Hawks boss, General Lesetja Senona, raising concerns with him about the controversial Port Shepstone drug consignment.

The matter centres on 541 kilograms of cocaine, worth an estimated R200 million, which was seized at Durban Harbour in June 2021 before being stolen months later from a poorly secured Hawks walk-in safe in Port Shepstone.

Lebeya says Senona informed him about the initial drug bust, but he only became aware that the cocaine had been stored at the Port Shepstone facility after reading a report on the matter.

“You knew on the day itself that there was a bust, you knew who was involved with the bust. You knew the quantity of the consignment. Can we accept that as a fact that, that is what happened on the day?” asked Commissioner Sesi Baloyi.

“That’s correct, commissioner,” Lebeya responded.

“Yes. But then you say he wouldn’t tell you and he didn’t tell you that we actually have stored this at our DPCI offices. Are you saying he didn’t tell you that?” asked Commissioner Baloyi.

“That is where I cant recall properly, but because I cant recollect, I take it that he didn’t tell me about the place where he is going to store the drugs,” said Lebeya.

Lebeya further revealed that he did not subject Senona to a polygraph test following the theft of the cocaine.

He faced tough questioning over his decision not to investigate Senona, saying he viewed the former provincial Hawks boss as a complainant rather than a suspect.

The commission heard that Lebeya had been provided with a report identifying key role players in the cocaine consignment case, including Senona.

Despite this, some of the officials named in the report were not investigated.

Under questioning, Lebeya struggled to explain why Senona was not subjected to further scrutiny, instead pointing to the supervisor responsible for the investigation.

Written by: Odirile Rabalao