• Published

South African prosecutors have withdrawn fraud and corruption charges brought against criminal intelligence chief Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo and six other police officers.

He and his colleagues were arrested in June 2025 over the allegedly unlawful appointment of a civilian to a key post within the intelligence unit. They denied the charges and were not suspended.

The case against them was now been formally dropped at a court in the capital, Pretoria, after a review last month by the country's chief prosecutor.

South Africa's police force has long been plagued by issues of political interference, alleged corruption and a seeming inability to effectively tackle high levels of crime.

A major judicial inquiry into alleged police corruption, known as the Madlanga Commission, is currently under way.

It was established last year by President Cyril Ramaphosa after a senior police officer alleged that organised crime groups had infiltrated the government.

Speaking outside court in Pretoria after the withdrawal of the charges, Gen Khumalo expressed relief that the "truth at least is out".

Prosecutors had claimed that Dineo Mokwele was unqualified for the senior technical support services position she held within crime intelligence and labelled her a "token appointment".

Her appointment then came under scrutiny at the Madlanga Commission.

It heard that Mokwele was more than qualified for the post and had about a dozen certificates to her name.

In July, Andrea Johnson - the former head of a specialised unit within the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) tasked with investigating high level and complex corruption cases - appeared before the commission.

She admitted that she was unaware of Mokwele's qualifications and apologised for remarks made about her.

Gen Khumalo became the head of Crime Intelligence in 2022. Up until then, he had served in different police units for more than two decades.