High-ranking cop ousted as 39-million-rand mystery deepens

Major General Feroz Khan's dismissal from the South African Police Service landed on September 2, but the procedural exit has done little to close the questions that built up around him over several years. He was terminated after failing to appear before a disciplinary officer, a process the Labour Court had already declined to block when Khan challenged it. The SAPS framed the outcome as institutional discipline applied without exception to rank. That framing is accurate, as far as it goes. What the dismissal does not resolve is the substantive record that investigators, prosecutors, and a commission of inquiry have been assembling in parallel. Those threads now run through a criminal case, a financial profile that investigators say cannot be explained by his police salary, and testimony before the Madlanga Commission that touches on conduct inside Crime Intelligence. The numbers are not complicated to state. Within a single year, Khan acquired roughly 30 vehicles and R39 million in property. His police salary, according to investigators, could not account for either figure. That kind of gap tends to draw sustained attention from people whose job it is to ask how such things happen. The criminal exposure traces back to May 2021 at OR Tambo International Airport. Khan was arrested alongside Gauteng Hawks head Major General Ebrahim Kadwa and businessman Tariq Downes over allegations of unlawful possession of precious metals and defeating the ends of justice. Prosecutors allege that Downes was found carrying 75.9 grams of unwrought gold while claiming he was executing an undercover operation. Khan and Kadwa allegedly intervened to secure his release, though investigators found no authorized operation existed. That matter remains pending in the Kempton Park Magistrates' Court. By contrast, the Madlanga Commission has pursued a broader examination of Khan's conduct, and the picture that emerged there is more intricate. Lieutenant Colonel Nkoana Joseph Sebola testified that Khan's involvement in a 2021 Aeroton cocaine seizure was irregular and that he interfered in subsequent investigations. Evidence leaders presented WhatsApp messages and material from Khan's electronic devices alleging he facilitated tenders for tobacco mogul Mohamed Sayed. The commission also heard claims that Khan passed confidential police information to EFF leader Julius Malema through Sayed and drafted parliamentary questions for the politician. Malema has acknowledged knowing Khan and contacting Sayed after Khan was shot, but denied providing protection or interfering with parliamentary scrutiny. The financial questioning before the commission proved particularly pointed. Evidence leader advocate Adila Hassim pressed on how Khan's reported income could account for the property portfolio and vehicle acquisitions documented before the inquiry. That line of questioning connects to a separate allegation involving former Investigating Directorate Against Corruption head Andrea Johnson. The commission heard that Johnson leaked a 2018 police docket to Khan before he provided a warning statement, allowing him to prepare his defense in advance. Johnson invoked her right against self-incrimination when questioned. Khan was shot and wounded in an apparent murder attempt in Johannesburg in June, days before he was scheduled to testify before the commission. His medical certificates, submitted to explain his absence from work and proceedings, subsequently came under scrutiny. Hassim raised concerns about document dates, and Khan's doctor reportedly told the commission that Khan's son had requested date changes, resulting in backdated notes. The SAPS has stated it will continue respecting court decisions and providing further information about the dismissal where legally permissible. The commission has been consistent on one point: the allegations against Khan remain untested. He has not given evidence before the inquiry and has not had the opportunity to respond to all charges levelled against him. Whether Khan will eventually appear before the commission to contest the financial and operational allegations, or whether the criminal proceedings in Kempton Park will reach a verdict first, is the open question that will determine how much of this record ever gets a direct answer.