Since then, the National Prosecuting Authority has put several measures in place to protect her and her colleagues.
IDAC Head Andrea Johnson testifies at the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee inquiry into alleged corruption and political interference in the criminal justice system at Good Hope Chambers on November 06, 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Gallo Images/Brenton Geach).
Head of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac), Adrea Johnson, says the organisation’s investigation into Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo and co-accused has adversely affected her life.
Johnson appeared at the Madlanga commission on Tuesday to respond to allegations that Idac unlawfully operates outside of its mandate and that it pursued a criminal case against Khumalo and other officials at Crime Intelligence due to interference at the South African Police Service (Saps).
Khumalo was arrested on 26 June 2025 in connection with the alleged irregular appointment of a former BMW employee to the rank of brigadier. Johnson said the arrest was a result of a criminal complaint filed by National Coloured Congress (NCC) leader Fadiel Adams.
Johnson has denied KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi‘s testimony before parliament’s Ad hoc committee in October last year that Khumalo’s arrest was an attempt to stop a criminal investigation in Gauteng.
Death threats
The Idac head told the commission that Khumalo’s arrest has invited trouble for her and her family. She said in the days leading up to Khumalo’s arrest, she received a death threat on her phone.
“It read, Mrs Idac, you and your guys, Shabalala, Perumal, Padayachi and Bellochun [sic] have gone too far. You’re going to wish you did not f*ck with us. Get body bags ready,” she said.
“In my long career as a prosecutor, this is the first time that I received a death threat.”
Since then, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has put several measures in place to protect her and her colleagues. The threat was escalated to the NPA’s risk and security division, which followed up on the message.
“It was one of those phones that didn’t have a registered SIM card. So it sent a message, and you couldn’t then go ahead and trace the user of the telephone.
“I am aware, however, that later on they were able to determine where a group from whom it might have come. And I’m prepared to write that down. Because it might be a subject of the commission.”
Johnson: ‘Someone accosted my daughter and I’
However, she said she did not include the death threat in her affidavit because at the time, she did not think it was related to Khumalo’s arrest.
“But what had happened is, someone accosted my daughter and I at our gate. And we had lived there for almost 20 years. And this had happened for the first time. Four days before. And I think the only reason it alarmed me was when the person walked up to the gate; he spoke to me immediately in Zulu.
“The words that followed sort of just gave it away. And when I got this message late in the week, it did make sense. Because when the person approached the gate, I asked my daughter to stand back. And from where I was, I said in English, ‘Can I help?’ And the person replied in Zulu. And I replied in English, ‘I’m so sorry. I don’t know what you are saying. ‘ And then he said in English, ‘I want a lawyer.’ And it’s a fully residential area.
“He walked off. And he went down the road, stood on the corner of the road. And then you could see him making a call. And so we decided to just wait to be safe till he left. And then this [death threat] came after. But that was the sequence of those events.”
The matter remains under investigation.
