Madlanga Commission Evidence Leaders Seek In-Camera Hearing for Khan’s WhatsApp Records
Evidence leaders at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry have filed an urgent application to have portions of the encrypted WhatsApp communications belonging to dismissed Crime Intelligence Deputy Chief Major-General Feroz Khan heard in camera (behind closed doors).
The application request calls for broadcast cameras to be switched off and public access restricted when these specific text logs are introduced.
The legal move comes just ahead of Khan’s highly anticipated, long-delayed physical appearance before the commission scheduled for Monday, 28 September 2026.
According to court records and statements from the legal teams on Friday, 25 September 2026, the evidence leaders have cautioned that making these specific digital exchanges entirely public poses a severe threat to security.
They argue that the unredacted files contain information that could significantly compromise ongoing, high-level sensitive state investigations and put the safety of several individuals at risk.
The commission, chaired by retired Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, has spent months dissecting forensic extractions from Khan’s mobile devices.
The broader cache of WhatsApp messages has already implicated several prominent figures and exposed deep-seated vulnerabilities within the state apparatus, including, alleged coordination with tobacco executives regarding lucrative, multimillion-rand South African Police Service (SAPS) COVID-19 and treasury supply contracts, direct interactions through intermediaries with EFF leader Julius Malema, involving the alleged leaking of confidential state details and the strategic drafting of parliamentary questions and communications potentially linking Khan to operational interference in major criminal cases, including the high-profile 2021 Aeroton cocaine bust.
Khan was originally scheduled to take the stand earlier this year, but his testimony faced consecutive delays due to medical hospitalisation following an alleged shooting incident in Houghton.
Justice Madlanga recently rejected further generic medical certificates from Khan’s legal team, ordering that the former general must appear in person on Monday unless an independent medical evaluation explicitly rules him unfit.
While the exact contents of the newly contested messages remain hidden, the commission’s decision on whether to switch off the media cameras will be finalized when proceedings resume on Monday morning.
