The arrests of two of South Africa’s most senior crime-fighting generals have triggered a political and institutional firestorm, with the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party warning that the country’s law enforcement agencies are being hollowed out by corruption at the highest level.
“The MK Party calls for the immediate suspension of Major General Feroz Khan and Major General Ebrahim Kadwa pending investigations,” the party said on Sunday, following their arrest in a widening probe into alleged illegal precious metals dealings.
Major General Feroz Khan, head of SAPS Counter-Intelligence, and Major General Ebrahim Kadwa, Gauteng Hawks boss, were arrested in a coordinated anti-corruption operation.
A Durban businessman, Tariq Downes, was also taken into custody as investigators closed in on what authorities allege is a network involved in the unlawful trade of precious metals, corruption, and defeating the ends of justice.
The MK Party said the arrests confirm long-standing warnings about deep structural rot within SAPS, pointing to explosive allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
Major General Ebrahim Kadwa
Image: Supplied
“The damning revelations made by Lt. Gen. Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi had already exposed the extent of the rot within the system, and these arrests only serve to confirm those grave concerns,” said MK Party national spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela.
The party warned that allowing senior officials implicated in serious criminal allegations to remain in office would undermine public trust and compromise ongoing investigations.
Major General Feroz Khan
Image: Supplied
“Allowing any implicated individuals, including politicians, to remain in positions of authority would severely undermine public confidence in law enforcement and compromise the integrity of ongoing investigations,” Ndhlela said.
Kadwa was arrested on Saturday by the Political Killings Task Team, while Khan was apprehended during a raid at his luxury Houghton apartment in Johannesburg on Sunday morning.
Although police have not formally confirmed the identities of all suspects, national spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe confirmed that two senior SAPS officials and a civilian had been arrested following an intensive investigation.
“These arrests form part of ongoing efforts by law enforcement to dismantle criminal networks involved in the illicit trade of precious minerals and corruption,” Mathe said.
She added that the suspects were linked to allegations involving unlawful precious metals transactions, corruption, and attempts to defeat the ends of justice.
The arrests have once again placed Khan at the centre of long-standing controversy within SAPS.
He previously headed SAPS Counter and Security Intelligence before being moved within Crime Intelligence last year, amid allegations of political interference and internal power struggles.
During testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, Mkhwanazi described Khan as “a political fixer” who was allegedly protected by senior political figures from criminal scrutiny.
Mkhwanazi further told Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee that former police minister Bheki Cele allegedly pressured him in 2021 to shield Khan during investigations linked to a major cocaine seizure in Aeroton, Johannesburg.
The allegations relate to claims that Khan interfered in investigations after officers allegedly attempted to steal narcotics worth an estimated R700 million during a July 2021 drug bust.
Despite the controversy, Khan was later cleared in an internal disciplinary process and acquitted of all charges in 2025 after successfully appealing a 2024 Labour Court ruling that had allowed SAPS to fast-track disciplinary proceedings against him.
The three suspects are expected to appear in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on Monday, May 11, where they will face charges including unlawful dealing in precious metals, corruption, defeating the ends of justice, and contraventions of legislation regulating the trade in precious minerals.
The Star