Madlanga Commission Hears Of Alleged Criminal Syndicates Operating Inside JMPD

The Madlanga Commission has heard allegations of extensive criminal infiltration within parts of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department, including claims that officers collaborated with syndicates, used civilians to identify lucrative targets and interfered with investigations.

Superintendent Elmarie de Beer, head of the JMPD's Internal Affairs Unit, told the commission on Tuesday, 15 September, that patterns identified by investigators implicated members of the Tactical Response Unit, Special Projects Unit and K9 Unit.

Her evidence described alleged criminal networks extending beyond the JMPD and involving members of other law-enforcement agencies.

“This conduct is not confined to JMPD,” De Beer testified, saying cases investigated internally had indicated collaboration involving JMPD officers, members of the South African Police Service and the Hawks, as well as people buying or selling stolen goods.

The allegations presented to the commission have not necessarily resulted in criminal convictions, and those implicated are entitled to respond to the claims against them.

Civilians Allegedly Used To Identify Targets

De Beer described a system in which some officers allegedly cultivated unofficial networks of civilians who acted as spotters.

According to her evidence, these individuals could be employees of businesses being targeted or people positioned outside businesses to monitor their activities.

“Based on the pattern Internal Affairs has identified, they are civilians who are typically either employed within a targeted business or stationed outside a business to observe its patterns of activity and are willing to participate in criminal activity for rewards,” De Beer testified.

The alleged operations targeted businesses handling large amounts of cash, including hardware businesses and Chinese suppliers.

Copper, gold, diamonds and other precious stones were also allegedly targeted.

De Beer said Internal Affairs had additionally received allegations involving JMPD members in drugs and human trafficking, although formal reports had not been made in those cases.

Former TRU Boss Accused Of Protecting Syndicates

Among the senior former officers implicated in De Beer's testimony was retired superintendent Phineas Manyama, who previously headed the Tactical Response Unit.

De Beer alleged that Manyama exercised significant control over where TRU officers could operate.

According to her evidence, officers entering certain areas where suspected syndicates operated would be instructed to leave.

Manyama was also accused of arranging for TRU officers to escort trucks carrying stolen copper to syndicates allegedly responsible for the theft, in exchange for a share of the proceeds.

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In another incident, he allegedly ordered officers to abandon a vehicle pursuit involving a suspected drug dealer.

De Beer also testified that Manyama instructed officers to stand down after five bricks of suspected cocaine were discovered.

The officers allegedly disregarded the instruction and continued investigating, subsequently finding another 12 bricks of suspected cocaine at a property linked to the suspect.

Manyama was further accused of protecting people allegedly involved in the killing of illegal miners, commonly known as zama zamas.

Internal Affairs sought disciplinary action against him, but he retired in April 2026 before the process could be concluded.

De Beer told the commission that no criminal investigation arose from those allegations because Internal Affairs did not at the time have direct physical evidence linking Manyama to the alleged conduct and had relied largely on witness accounts.

She said additional potential evidence existed, including WhatsApp communications exchanged between officers on the day of the aborted vehicle pursuit.

Woman Allegedly Robbed Of Funeral Money

De Beer also detailed allegations involving three TRU officers accused of robbing a Zimbabwean woman of money she had collected for a family funeral.

According to her evidence, the officers acted on information obtained from an informer before searching the woman and her brother outside a shop.

The officers allegedly took approximately R80,000 and detained the pair at Johannesburg Central Police Station, where they were allegedly threatened with a fabricated money-laundering charge.

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A Hawks member subsequently assisted Internal Affairs in arresting the three officers.

De Beer said a lawyer later sought to have the charges withdrawn on behalf of the complainant and investigators subsequently struggled to locate her.

The circumstances surrounding the withdrawal raised concerns within Internal Affairs about possible interference with the case.

R1.5 Million Robbery Investigation Allegedly Compromised

Another case presented to the commission involved an alleged R1.5-million robbery of a businessman.

De Beer alleged that Inspector Emma Phakoane arranged for a Special Projects Unit vehicle to be removed from the Fennel Road fleet yard and provided to a Public Order Policing member.

The vehicle was allegedly used with a spotter or informer to rob the businessman of approximately R1.5 million in cash.

The allegations did not end with the robbery.

Days later, according to De Beer, Phakoane, Chief Tintswalo Rikhotso and Hawks Captain Mabunda Matimu allegedly offered investigators R550,000 to compromise the investigation.

Four months later, Phakoane and two other people allegedly targeted the same businessman again.

De Beer alleged that the businessman's wife was assaulted after recognising the informer and attempting to photograph the person.

The matter was eventually dealt with at Booysens Police Station, where De Beer said the charge-office commander directed that the money be returned to the businessman.

Her evidence was presented as an example of how alleged corruption could cross institutional boundaries: a crime allegedly involving JMPD members was referred to the Hawks, only for the resulting investigation itself to allegedly face attempts at interference.

Previous Allegations Against JMPD Officers

The commission has heard a series of other allegations involving JMPD officers.

These include claims that K9 Unit supervisor Johannes Mokgatle reported sick before allegedly using an official vehicle to travel to businessman Katiso “KT” Molefe's Sandhurst home during a police operation on 6 December 2024.

Mokgatle was accused in testimony before the commission of attempting to interfere with Molefe's arrest.

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The commission has also previously heard allegations that JMPD officers interfered with a July 2021 drug operation in Aeroton, where cocaine valued at hundreds of millions of rand was allegedly stolen.

Separate evidence has dealt with alleged collusion between law-enforcement officers and criminal syndicate members in a R14.9-million gemstone robbery in Killarney.

The allegations remain subject to the commission's inquiry and should not be treated as findings of criminal guilt.

Internal Investigators Face Threats And Interference

De Beer also described difficulties confronting JMPD Internal Affairs when attempting to investigate allegations against officers.

Investigators had faced threats and intimidation, while complainants were sometimes reluctant to pursue cases against officers, she said.

Her testimony prompted concern from the commission about whether allegations serious enough to warrant criminal investigation were being adequately referred to SAPS or the Hawks.

The commission questioned whether cases were effectively ending within the JMPD's internal disciplinary system rather than being investigated as potential crimes.

De Beer's evidence painted a picture of alleged misconduct extending beyond isolated acts by individual officers and into networks involving informers, law-enforcement personnel and suspected criminal syndicates.

The Madlanga Commission is continuing its examination of alleged criminal infiltration, corruption and interference within South Africa's law-enforcement structures.

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JMPD officers allegedly worked with criminal syndicates and civilian spotters to target cash, copper, drugs and precious stones, the Madlanga Commission has heard.

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Stolen copper, cocaine, cash robberies and an alleged R550,000 attempt to compromise an investigation: JMPD Internal Affairs has detailed serious allegations before the Madlanga Commission.