‘No one is saying f*k*l’: Idac investigator tells Madlanga commission of internal plot against him

Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) investigator Mantsha Raphesu testifies before Madlanga commission at Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria on 31 July 2026. Picture: Gallo Images/Frennie Shivambu A senior investigator has painted a picture of internal conflict within the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac), telling the Madlanga commission that he was investigated after resisting further involvement in a controversial probe. Mantsha Raphesu testified on Friday, 31 July 2026, at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria, where he detailed his concerns about the handling ofinvestigations into the police’s Crime Intelligence divisionand the fallout that followed his objections.

The probes stem from aSection 27 referral submitted in November 2024by National Coloured Congress leader and member of parliament Fadiel Adams. Among the issues under scrutiny were allegations linked to the appointment of Dineo Mokwele, a former BMW employee, to a brigadier position. Raphesu, who reported tosuspended Idac chief investigatorDylan Perumal, told the commission on Friday that investigators like himself do not select cases, but cases are assigned to them through internal processes.

“One is assigned to a matter and called to a meeting. The assignment is communicated by the chief investigator or the prosecutor working on the matter, or the project manager,” his affidavit read. He further described how former Idac head Andrea Johnson would sometimes directly allocate teams to specific investigations, including matters involving the political killings task team (PKTT), despite such decisions typically falling outside her office’s role.

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A key point in Raphesu’s evidence was his claim that Johnson misled parliament’s ad hoc committee during her testimony in November 2025. The investigator alleged that Johnson presented what he described as a “false” version of Adams’ Section 27 referral, omitting allegations relating to the PKTT’s alleged misuse of Crime Intelligence’s secret service account, known as the slush fund. “I was shocked because the Section 27 that I saw, that information was there,” he said. According to Raphesu, the way the Crime Intelligence investigation was initiated and handled raised serious concerns, prompting him to request removal from the matter.

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