Andrea Johnson, head of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac), says the unit is looking into allegations that politicians and high-ranking police officials may have been involved in the alleged unlawful awarding of an SA Police Service (SAPS) tender to Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
Matlala’s company, Medicare24 Tshwane District, was awarded a R360m tender in 2024 to provide health risk management services to the SAPS. Irregularities in the procurement process were alleged, leading to the contract’s termination after the supplier did not meet its agreed obligations.
Testifying before parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system, Johnson said the case was referred to Idac by the SAPS on February 16 to investigate potential fraud and corruption by police officials and Matlala’s associates.
“It would be irresponsible to mention potential suspects until we get evidence. I have learnt you can throw a name out there and follow what you think is an investigative path, but that doesn’t amount to evidence. It’s irresponsible.
“What I can say is there are several persons implicated, regardless of their ranking and who they are. As long as there’s evidence, Idac will follow that evidence, and where we can, they will be prosecuted.”
After Matlala’s devices were seized by the police during his arrest, Johnson said Idac approached the police for access to them to help with investigations.
“We checked with the [Hawks] in Gauteng to say we have a cyber warrant for Matlala’s devices, as they’ve been seized.
“We were able to engage the office of the national commissioner, and he indicated the phones were seized by the political killings task team and he would arrange for those devices to be made available through crime intelligence head Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo.”
Two cellphones were subsequently brought to them by a police officer in the task team while they were still in an evidence bag. Johnson said they were able to download the data from Matlala’s phone but noticed there were gaps.
“It became apparent that data had been deleted,” she said. “We got the data and continued with the investigations relating to the SAPS tender. There are many people implicated, in SAPS and Matlala’s associates.”
Her testimony directly addressed former police minister Bheki Cele’s claim that Idac operated without oversight.
Johnson said a judge was appointed last month by the department of justice to oversee the directorate, acknowledging Julius Malema’s point that oversight was absent until then.
ANC MP Xola Nqola pressed her on how oversight had been exercised between 2019 and October 2025. Johnson said the directorate had operated under the same framework as the National Prosecuting Authority, with criminal matters and disciplinary hearings conducted as required.
This partially affirmed Cele’s concern about the absence of external checks while clarifying that internal prosecutorial processes had remained in place.
Johnson rejected allegations that her husband, employed in crime intelligence since 2009, shared information with her. “Absolutely not. I don’t need information from Mr Johnson. Pillow talk gets people killed,” she said.
This contradicted suggestions in earlier testimony that her proximity to crime intelligence compromised Idac’s independence.
Systemic weaknesses
On procurement abuses, Johnson confirmed that former crime intelligence CFO Solly Lazarus had arranged gratification schemes through covert vehicle procurement, resulting in his conviction. This reinforced earlier testimony about systemic weaknesses in crime intelligence’s financial controls and supported the committee’s broader concern about accountability for covert expenditure.
Johnson said the oversight of crime intelligence funds remained a challenge, echoing warnings from previous witnesses that the unit’s opaque spending continues to undermine trust in its operations.
Turning to current investigations, Johnson said Idac received a referral on February 16 regarding Matlala and the Medicare24 Tshwane District contract with the police. She explained that the political killings task team had seized Matlala’s devices, which were later downloaded by Idac under a cyber warrant, but that some data had been deleted.
She confirmed that several SAPS members were implicated and that the Hawks were handling related matters at Tembisa Hospital.
EFF MP Julius Malema asked whether politicians were under investigation. Johnson replied: “That is correct, honourable member,” but declined to name individuals.
Her statement aligned with earlier testimony that procurement irregularities extended beyond officials but stopped short of confirming the identities of political actors.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.