Former IPID chief Robert McBride has disclosed that a counter-intelligence structure formed with Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo was narrowly focused on monitoring Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, and was never authorised to conduct arrests or pursue formal investigations.

Testifying before Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee probing the functioning of SAPS, McBride said the counter-intelligence unit was limited to intelligence collection, not criminal investigations.

Any move beyond that, he warned, amounted to a serious breach of mandate.

“This was a collection structure,” McBride said. “It was not designed to run cases, conduct arrests or investigate civilians.”

McBride explained that counter-intelligence within SAPS exists to protect the institution from internal compromise — not to replace crime intelligence or investigative units.

Its role, he said, is to identify police members who have been infiltrated or corrupted by criminal networks and to prevent foreign or domestic interference within the service.

“The job is to keep the water pure,” McBride told MPs.

“It is about protecting the organisation from internal contamination, not investigating cartels or members of the public.”

The former IPID chief was responding to pointed questioning from ActionSA MP Dereleen James, who sought clarity on whether counter-intelligence had overstepped its authority by targeting figures outside SAPS.

McBride was unequivocal: counter-intelligence “has no business” investigating cases involving civilians.

Pressed on whether the structure involving Khumalo had any authority to probe Matlala and alleged criminal networks linked to him, McBride said such actions blurred critical lines within law enforcement.

“In my opinion, that is acting outside the mandate. This cannot be done in a willy-nilly fashion. The boundaries must be clear and fixed,” he stated.

Matlala rose to public prominence because his companies suspiciously won lucrative state contracts, including the controversial R360-million health services contract with the SAPS.

The deal was later cancelled by police commissioner, Fannie Masemola.

He was arrested in May 2025 and has been held in custody.

Moreover, Matlala has been transferred from the Kgosi Mampuru prison to eBongweni, a super maximum facility in KZN.

Khumalo led the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), established to investigate a wave of political assassinations, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).

While the unit was initially focused on contract killings, its work later expanded into uncovering alleged corruption within SAPS and the broader criminal justice systems.

McBride’s testimony underscored growing concern among lawmakers about blurred lines between intelligence gathering and criminal investigation within SAPS, and whether those overlaps have been exploited or misused.

He is expected to return to the committee on Wednesday, when MPs are set to interrogate him further on claims of institutional infiltration and the handling of sensitive intelligence within the justice system

kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za

IOL Politics

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