By Johnathan Paoli
Investigative Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) Head of Investigations Matthews Sesoko has conceded that he was involved in ‘Project Diversion’ and knew of plans to arrest senior Crime Intelligence officials.
‘Project Diversion’ is an IDAC investigation, led by former head advocate Andrea Johnson, into allegations of corruption involving senior Crime Intelligence officials.
Concluding his testimony before the Madlanga Commission on Thursday, Sesoko made the admission after evidence leader Thabang Pooe confronted him with emails showing he had been copied on operational discussions, meeting requests and planning related to the investigation.
“I will concede that I was involved,” Sesoko said.
The concession drew sustained criticism from commission chairperson Mbuyiseli Madlanga and commissioners Sandile Khumalo and Sesi Baloyi, who questioned Sesoko’s leadership and his repeated claims that Johnson had directed the investigations from her office while he remained largely uninvolved.
Madlanga said the documentary record demonstrated Sesoko’s involvement throughout the investigation.
“From all this, it appears that you were involved throughout. Some emails were sent to you directly. On others, you were copied. All of that paints a picture of you being fully involved. Do you accept that?” Madlanga asked.
“I accept that,” Sesoko replied.
The commission also challenged Sesoko over earlier evidence suggesting he had only become aware of the Crime Intelligence operation after the arrests.
Commissioner Khumalo referred to emails discussing the planned arrests before they were carried out.
“So your earlier answer that you only became aware after the arrest, that was not correct,” Khumalo said.
Sesoko maintained he had been referring to the operational “takedown” rather than the decision to arrest, but acknowledged the correspondence showed he knew arrests were being planned.
Despite admitting his involvement in aspects of ‘Project Diversion’, Sesoko maintained that his primary concern was not whether Crime Intelligence officials should have been investigated, but how the investigations were conducted.
He told the commission his concerns centred on departures from IDAC’s established intake procedures, including the handling of Section 27 referrals.
Sesoko accepted previous evidence that Section 27 affidavits formed the foundation of investigations and agreed that IDAC’s operations manual should be clarified to remove uncertainty around the process.
The commission, however, questioned why the head of investigations had failed to intervene if he accepted there had been procedural shortcomings.
Baloyi repeatedly asked where the head of investigations had been while flawed investigations resulted in arrests and prosecutions.
She suggested Sesoko’s lack of oversight amounted to a structural failure within IDAC.
“The question prompted is where was the head of investigation when this happened,” Baloyi said, adding that “things got bad because the head of investigation was missing.”
Sesoko accepted responsibility but maintained that Johnson had personally directed the Crime Intelligence investigations.
“I take full responsibility, but at the same time, I didn’t want to meddle in what Johnson was doing,” he said.
Madlanga questioned how Sesoko could fulfil his leadership responsibilities if he accepted such limitations on his authority.
Later, the chairperson delivered one of the day’s strongest rebukes after Sesoko explained why he generally deferred to Johnson’s decisions.
Referring to his affidavit, Sesoko said years of conflict during his time at IPID — including multiple suspensions, his dismissal, criminal charges, testimony before the Zondo Commission and his later kidnapping following the Crime Intelligence controversy — had shaped his approach.
He said those experiences convinced him that challenging powerful figures often resulted in personal victimisation.
“Based on my experience and what I went through, sometimes standing up to things that are wrong, you end up being a victim yourself. I took the view at the time that when ID takes a particular decision, I fall in with it,” Sesoko said.
His affidavit similarly states that, after years of legal battles and personal hardship, he deliberately chose not to involve himself in matters from which he believed Johnson had excluded him, limiting his role to issues on which he was specifically asked to assist.
Madlanga rejected that explanation.
“The problem with that is if you want to be a leader, which you are, you should not put up your hand to be appointed as a leader. If that’s your attitude, you just should not put up your hand to be a leader,” he said.
After excusing Sesoko, Madlanga announced that the commission would not sit on Friday or Monday and is scheduled to resume on Tuesday, when suspended National Coloured Congress leader Fadiel Adams is expected to testify.
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