The Madlanga Commission has heard further evidence about alleged criminal infiltration and interference in operations at the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD).
The Commission heard how a former senior JMPD official, retired Superintendent Phineas Manyama, allegedly interfered in police operations and investigations into a drug bust in Johannesburg south.
The JMPD came under scrutiny at the Madlanga Commission on Friday, with two officers testifying about alleged interference by Manyama. Constable Malibongwe Cutalele from the Tactical Response Unit (TRU) testified that he still does not know how Manyama became aware of a police pursuit in July 2025.
Manyama was a senior officer in the unit and had authority over officers involved in the operation. Cutalele says Manyama instructed them to abandon the pursuit involving a tinted Ford Ranger, but did not explain why.
He told Commission chair, Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, and Commissioner Sandile Khumalo that he was surprised by the instruction and questioned how Manyama had learnt about the operation.
“Constable, how did he know that you were chasing this vehicle? How would Superintendent Manyama have known that? Thank you, Commissioners. At that point, I was also surprised. I did not know. I won’t tell lies. I did not know at all. And why is it that you would abandon the chase that easily or that readily? Commissioners, this industry is not an easy one, especially if the instruction comes from someone who’s above.”
This is not the first time Manyama’s name has come up at the Commission. JMPD Internal Affairs official, Elmarie de Beer, previously testified that Manyama allegedly instructed TRU members to escort trucks carrying stolen copper.
She also accused him of misusing state resources to guard a business belonging to a friend. On Friday, the Commission heard a recording in which Manyama allegedly reprimanded officers for failing to negotiate the release of drug suspects and seized cocaine. Constable Michael Potsane testified that Manyama called his team to a meeting at a petrol station near Eastgate Mall, five days after a drug bust in which 22 bricks of suspected cocaine were seized.
Potsane alleges that Manyama told them they should have negotiated with the other officers and the suspect and accepted whatever was being offered.
“During the meeting, Superintendent Manyama accused us of being disrespectful towards him, of being involved, and of having formed our own unit that was stealing other people’s drugs. He told us that we should have sat down with the other officers and the suspect, negotiate the release of the suspect and the drugs, and accepted whatever they were offering us. He repeatedly described us as a criminal, told us that we needed to listen to him.”
The Commission also heard how a search of a mansion in Johannesburg’s Lakewood Estate led to the discovery of 17 bricks of suspected cocaine. Potsane testified that his team first arrested Abdul Hussein near the Palm Continental Hotel in Mayfair, where five bricks of suspected cocaine and a pistol were found in his vehicle. Hussein allegedly agreed to cooperate and led officers to the mansion, where he said he had collected the drugs.
A second suspect identified as a Brazilian national was found inside the property. Evidence leader, Advocate Seegels-Ncube, told the Commission that the registered owner of the property has the surname Matlala.
However, she said the Commission has not established whether the owner is related to attempted murder accused, Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
Potsane elaborates, “Mr. Hussein, let us to the house in Lakewood Estate, Lakewood Terrace Street, Omonde. The house is a large mansion but was unfinished. Upon our arrival, we found a second suspect of Brazilian origin inside the house. Subsequently identified as Mr. Ronaldo Dias Tavez Resende. We conducted a search of the premises and found in a storage room inside the house, boxes containing a total of 17 bricks of cocaine. The bricks were packed in medium-sized boxes lined with white foam and of the boxes contained two bricks each.”
The Commission also heard of a possible link between the July 2025 drug bust and a video allegedly sent by Matlala to his business partner, Mike van Wyk, in April that year.
The video showed blocks of cocaine bearing a “Prestige” imprint.
Seegels-Ncube presented a Forensic Science Laboratory report during Potsane’s testimony. It found that three of the six blocks tested positive for cocaine bore the same Prestige emblem. She cautioned that the Commission was not suggesting that these were the same drugs shown in the video.
“Chair, you will recall the evidence about a video that Mr. Matlala said to Mr. Mike Van Wyk with the emblem that said Prestige. We just want to play that video again for the public to remember but it was recently referred to again and we then want to show you the link between that video and this drug bust on the 20th of July 2025.”
The Commission resumes on Monday.