Johnson has been booked off until Wednesday.
Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) head Andrea Johnson at the Good Hope Chamber in Cape Town on 6 November 2025. Picture: Gallo Images/Brenton Geach
Investigative Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) head Andrea Johnson won’t testify before the Madlanga commission, after she was allegedly hospitalised.
Johnson was expected to appear at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria on Monday, 13 July 2026.
Idac head Andrea Johnson hospitalised
However, Johnson’s legal team, consisting of Advocate Apla Bodlani and Advocate Tsitso Ramatsekisa, informed the commission that the senior Idac official suffered a health-related emergency while on her way in.
“Shortly before my arrival at the venue this morning, the representative [NPA’s Mthunzi Mhaga] of the client received a telephone call from one of Advocate Johnson’s protectors informing us that she is not able to be with us.
“They are rushing her to the hospital. I don’t know what happened,” Bodlani said on Monday.
Bodlani confirmed that the counsel has received a sick note.
“We were made to understand that she is with the doctor. She had some serious health-related issues that I am not able to disclose in public,” the lawyer explained.
He added that Johnson has been booked off until Wednesday, 15 July.
The evidence leader asked that Johnson’s testimony be postponed to a later date.
The commission’s chairperson Mbuyiseli Madlanga remarked that, despite the confidentiality concerns, the medical note was “useless” because it contained minimal information.
“It’s one of those useless so-called medical certificates,” he said.
Madlanga questioned why testimony could not proceed in Johnson’s absence, noting that similar arrangements had recently been made for senior Crime Intelligence official Feroz Khan and Medicare24 Holdings CEO Mike Van Wyk, both of whom have been recently hospitalised.
In response, evidence leader Mahlape Sello explained that the specific nature of Johnson’s expected testimony “does not lend itself to that kind of approach”.
The commission was subsequently adjourned and is scheduled to continue on Tuesday, 14 July.
Madlanga commission allegations
Johnson faces allegations of interfering with a criminal case involving Khan.
The matter originates from a complaint of common assault and intimidation filed by former Crime Intelligence officer Brigadier Leonora Phetlhe, who claimed that Khan assaulted her in June 2018.
Testimony before the commission revealed that Johnson allegedly provided Khan with access to the contents of the criminal docket before his warning statement could be taken by law enforcement.
Following this, the Hawks investigated Johnson for interference and allegedly obstructing the course of justice.
Hawks investigator Captain Mark McLean confirmed that, as of May 2026, a prosecutor had been assigned to determine whether charges should be brought against her.
It was also disclosed by retired Hawks Colonel Kobus Roelofse that the NPA declined to pursue charges against Khan in December 2021, with the case officially closed the following month.
Husband controversy
Johnson has also faced criticism over her past involvement in her husband Junaid Johnson’s appointment during her tenure at the now-defunct Directorate of Special Operations (DSO), commonly known as the Scorpions, which was dissolved in 2009.
The issue came to light in November 2025 during her appearance before Parliament’s ad hoc committee, where it was revealed that she had participated in aspects of the recruitment process in 2007.
Her husband is currently employed within the police’s Crime Intelligence division.
During her interview for the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) role in December last year, Johnson maintained that she had declared the relationship and recused herself from critical stages of the hiring procedure, including shortlisting, interviewing and final decision-making.
Despite this, she acknowledged that she ought to have withdrawn from the process entirely, describing her involvement as a “misjudgement”.
In April 2026, civil society group Public Interest SA filed a criminal complaint with the Hawks over the matter.
