By Johnathan Paoli
The Madlanga Commission heard on Monday that evidence leaders want investigators to examine whether suspended Crime Intelligence senior officer Major-General Feroz Khan had any role in a 2021 burglary at the home of Daily Maverick journalist Marianne Thamm, after WhatsApp messages before the inquiry showed hostility towards her reporting.
Evidence leader advocate Adila Hassim stressed that no conclusive link had been established between the messages and the break-in, but said the sequence of events raised serious concerns about the possible misuse of Crime Intelligence resources.
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“What it shows is that there’s a willingness to use intelligence, Crime Intelligence capabilities, and Crime Intelligence resources for the purposes of using those resources against a journalist whose reporting you are not comfortable with. It’s not a lawful policing objective. It’s for the investigation of a journalist whose view you don’t like,” Hassim said.
The WhatsApp exchange dated 17 January 2021 between Khan and an unnamed CI officer in KwaZulu-Natal concerned an article by Thamm about former CI head Lieutenant-General Peter Jacobs and his allegations of irregularities involving the division’s Secret Service Account.
According to the messages previously presented before the commission, Khan remarked: “This journalist is a good friend of Jacobs.”
The other officer replied: “It’s clear as all articles are written by a single journalist. Counter needs to be activated on this [journalist].”
Hassim introduced an affidavit obtained from Thamm over the weekend, detailing how less than two months later, on 13 March 2021, her home was broken into.
The affidavit recorded that a 2014 Mac laptop MacBook Pro, an iPad and jewellery were stolen, while other valuable household items including televisions, cameras and cash were left untouched.
Hassim told the commission SAPS records confirmed that a case had been opened at Claremont Police Station, although it was eventually closed because no suspects could be identified.
Hassim stressed that journalists who publish inaccurate information should be challenged through established democratic processes rather than intelligence operations.
“The appropriate response would be to correct the information, to report it to the senior editor, and to report to the Press Ombudsman. My point is that there are institutional responses that are more appropriate than activating a counter against a journalist,” she said.
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She warned that the exchange demonstrated a broader systemic danger.
“The exchange reflects a danger that Crime Intelligence could be used for factional or personal and retaliatory purposes. That is something that we should take note of in the commission.”
Commissioner Sandile Khumalo cautioned against drawing direct conclusions from Thamm’s affidavit, noting that the journalist herself did not claim the burglary resulted from the WhatsApp conversation.
Khan’s attorney, Mohammad Vally, objected strongly to the manner in which the evidence was introduced, accusing the commission’s evidence leaders of unfairly disclosing material at the last minute while Khan remains hospitalised and unable to provide instructions.
“We now have to wonder whether or not the incremental disclosure and the leading of evidence essentially by ambush passes constitutional muster. We contend that it does not,” he said.
Vally argued that the proceedings should be postponed until Khan is able to respond.
“Right now he can’t, and factually, they’re kicking him while he’s down, and it troubles me significantly,” he said.
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But Hassim rejected the criticism, saying commissions of inquiry differ fundamentally from criminal trials because investigations continue while hearings are underway.
“This is not a trial that we’re conducting against General Khan. Information comes to us when it comes to us. The investigations are ongoing,” she said.
She confirmed that Thamm’s affidavit had only been commissioned on Sunday, and that she had sent a copy to Khan’s legal team as soon as possible.
Commission chair Mbuyiseli Madlanga ultimately ruled that the inquiry would continue.
He noted that commissions are not confined to pre-disclosed evidence and said Khan would receive all relevant documents and transcripts, allowing him an opportunity to answer the allegations once he is medically fit to testify.
Proceedings continue with Hassim turning to evidence relating to tender matters.
