Padayachee addressed allegations about his association with the Crime Intelligence officer.
Investigative Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) investigator Brian Padayachee testifies before Madlanga commission at Brigette Mabandla Judicial College in Pretoria on 14 July 2026. Picture: Gallo Images/Frennie Shivambu
Senior Investigative Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) investigator Brian Padayachee has firmly rejected claims that he is part of an alleged faction within law enforcement structures, telling the Madlanga commission he has no knowledge of any such network.
Padayachee appeared before the commission at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria on Tuesday, 14 July 2026.
Idac investigator denies Brian Padayachee alleged ‘cabal’ claims
Central to the testimony were claims by uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party MP Vusi Shongwe, who alleged that Padayachee, Idac head Andrea Johnson, senior investigator Suneel Bellochun, and Crime Intelligence official Feroz Khan formed part of what he termed an “Indian cabal” within law enforcement structures, including the South African Police Service (Saps).
Padayachee dismissed the allegation outright, denying the existence of a “Khan-Idac cabal”.
“If such a cabal exists, I am not a party to it. I have never investigated such because I don’t know of it and neither am I involved in it.
“I have no knowledge, I have no involvement in any of it,” he told the commission on Tuesday.
Padayachee addressed allegations about his association with Khan, who is currently hospitalised after being shot on 28 June.
He described their relationship as “strictly professional”.
While acknowledging their working history within Crime Intelligence, Padayachee indicated that his perception of Khan had shifted over time although he had “reservations” about him in the past.
“The General Khan I knew and worked with during this particular time is the General Khan that I see now with what is [happening] before the commission.”
The Idac investigator also rejected claims he disclosed the contents of a police docket to Khan in a case where the Crime Intelligence senior officer was implicated.
Padayachee added that Khan is currently a state witness in two Idac cases before the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court involving senior Crime Intelligence officials.
Dumisani Khumalo investigation
A significant portion of Padayachee’s testimony centred on his role as lead investigator in the corruption case against Crime Intelligence divisional commissioner Dumisani Khumalo and six other police officials, all of whom are currently out on bail.
Padayachee maintained that there was no internal or external “undue pressure” for him to go after Khumalo and his co-accused, saying the investigation was prosecution-driven.
He emphasised that the decision on whether to prosecute or charge individuals rested with prosecutors and not investigators.
“I investigate matters and have no authority to interfere with prosecutorial decisions,” Padayachee told the commision.
Khumalo and his co-accused were arrested in June 2025 over the alleged “irregular” appointment of Dineo Mokwele, a former BMW employee with a mechatronics background, to a brigadier-level technical support systems manager position.
The investigation was initiated after a complaint by National Coloured Congress leader Fadiel Adams, submitted to Idac through a Section 27 referral.
Section 27 of the National Prosecuting Authority Act, which governs the Idac as its parent body, requires that any case investigated by the unit must be supported by a referral affidavit.
Fadiel Adams affidavit raises questions
Attention also turned to inconsistencies in Adams’ affidavit, which commission chairperson Mbuyiseli Madlanga had earlier characterised as a “non-complaint”.
Padayachee clarified that he neither took the statement nor witnessed its recording.
The affidavit was instead obtained by Idac investigator Dylan Perumal in Cape Town in January 2025.
However, scrutiny arose after it was noted that the document bore a Pretoria stamp.
Padayachee attributed this to an administrative error.
“Yes, Mr Perumal was physically in Cape Town. Normally, we carry our stamps with us,” he said.
Madlanga challenged the explanation, saying such conduct was “usual”.
“That doesn’t make sense because you would stamp Cape Town when you are physically in Musina,” the retired judge said.
‘Quantum leap in logic’
The commission further interrogated whether the Section 27 referral met the legal threshold required to justify a criminal investigation.
Padayachee maintained that the allegations pointed to possible fraud and corruption.
“It is what was being said there: a person has been appointed in a technical post but is a civilian without qualification.
“For me that amounts to fraud and corruption, it needed to be looked at and verified,” he explained.
Madlanga, however, questioned the reasoning behind Padayachee’s conclusion.
“It is a quantum leap in logic because, as you know, many people are appointed in Saps even though they cannot salute.
“They get appointed because of their expertise. I am not saying Ms Mokwele had that expertise, but that is what we have been told,” Madlanga said.
Khumalo has previously argued that the case against him is a labour-related dispute rather than criminal misconduct.
He has since submitted representations to the office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions Andy Mothibi, seeking to have the charges withdrawn.
