Sesoko tells Madlanga why he didn’t ‘impose’ himself in Khumalo’s case

Past experience with his previous employer, being kidnapped, and being “unlawfully charged”, were among reasons Investigating Directorate Against Corruption head (investigations, operations) Matthews Sesoko gave, on Thursday, as to why he didn’t “impose himself” into investigations related to crime-intelligence boss Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo.

This decision to stand back, he told the Madlanga commission, occurred after he learned that he and his colleagues had been excluded from the case by Idac’s former head, Andrea Johnson.

“During my time at the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, I was involved in serious conflicts. I stood my ground and I paid a heavy price for it,” he said.

“I was suspended in 2015, subjected to a disciplinary process, and criminally charged, [a case] which I regarded as unlawful.”

Sesoko told the commission that his exclusion bypassed the normal standards of Idac.

Ordinarily, he said, matters received by Johnson would be referred to him, or one of the director of public prosecution’s colleagues, to evaluate and to then advise her before she took a decision.

In this instance, he said, Johnson received the matter and, “it appears, took decisions on it herself”.

The commission heard from previous witnesses how Idac investigators had launched “orchestrated attacks” on Khumalo and national police commissioner Fannie Masemola. The attacks, witnesses said, were led by Johnson.

Sesoko also made reference to his November 2025 kidnapping experience.

While he could not say if the kidnapping - which lasted a few hours - was related to work, he said two things had made him suspicious.

First, he said, when he told the criminals that he did not have a firearm, they assaulted him as if they knew that he should have been carrying one.

They also took his gadgets and demanded passwords, he said.

“These experiences were costly to me, personally and financially, and to my family. I am 61 years old and near the end of my career. When I found myself excluded from the crime intelligence matters, I made a deliberate decision not to force my way in.”

He also told the commission that just because he had highlighted procedural shortfalls did not suggest that there was no case to investigate. “My concern was not with whether there was a case, but with the manner in which those matters were handled, and in particular with the departure from the established intake and investigation process.

“Even where there is a case to answer, it must be dealt with in accordance with the process. And where the process is not followed, the integrity of the outcome is placed at risk.”

The Idac investigations saw Khumalo and other senior officials being arrested for the alleged irregular appointment of Brig Dineo Mokwele.

Following evidence presented at the commission, the case was provisionally withdrawn.

A further Idac case concerned Masemola, who was charged under the Public Finance Management Act in relation to a tender that was awarded to alleged underworld figure Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala.

Johnson conceded at the commission that charges against Masemola did not fall under Idac’s mandate.

The damning allegations against Idac have resulted in minister of justice and development Mmamoloko Kubayi restructuring the body.

Commissioner Sesi Baloyi said there was cause for concern that investigators at Idac had conducted more unlawful investigations than only the ones that had emerged at the commission

“We have heard evidence here about what else was being investigated off the books, that there is no record of,” she said.

Sowetan