Back and forth: Why Senona’s testimony was postponed at Madlanga Commission

A legal standoff between the Madlanga Commission and KZN Hawks boss Maj-Gen. Lesetja Senona was revealed in public view on Wednesday, after weeks of behind-the-scenes wrangling over disclosure, procedure, and whether the alleged top cop should take the stand at all.

The tension traces back to late September, when Crime Intelligence head Lt-Gen. Dumisani Khumalo implicated Senona during sworn testimony.

According to Commission spokesperson Jeremy Michaels, the moment Khumalo’s evidence touched on Senona, the commission initiated a standard but consequential process: issuing a Rule 3 notice.

“As a matter of course,” Michaels said, “once individuals are implicated in testimony, the Commission notifies them via a Rule 3 notice, which sets out the allegations and allows them to respond.”

In Senona’s case, that notice landed swiftly after Khumalo’s evidence and immediately triggered what would become a protracted legal tug-of-war.

For weeks, Michaels confirmed, Commission lawyers and Senona’s legal team traded correspondence, documents, and competing interpretations of what should be disclosed, what had already been furnished, and whether Senona would be compelled to testify before submitting a formal statement.

“There has been a back-and-forth between the Commission’s legal team and Senona’s legal representatives for several weeks,” Michaels told IOL on the sidelines of Monday’s session, conceding that the two sides had “a glitch” that required judicial intervention.

That impasse carried through to Wednesday morning, when Senona arrived at the commission and briefly entered the witness box, only for Chief Evidence Leader Advocate Matthew Chaskalson SC to announce that a new agreement had just been struck.

Under that arrangement, endorsed by Justice Madlanga, Senona will not yet testify.

Instead, he must deliver a comprehensive sworn statement by January 16, 2026, and then return to appear before the commission on January 27, 2026.

The stakes underlying the procedural battle are high.

Senona faces allegations that he aided alleged criminal kingpin Vusimusi “CAT” Matlala in securing a R360-million SAPS contract.

WhatsApp messages and witness testimony before the commission suggest that Senona, alongside senior officers Rafadi and Mkhwanazi, expected payments from Matlala in exchange for influence, privileged access or institutional favours.

In one exchange presented at the hearings, Senona messages Matlala: “Good afternoon brother. Did you meet with Thato?”, a reference to his son, Thato, to which Matlala replies that he is still awaiting an offer.

Further testimony alleged that Senona leaked confidential SAPS documents to Matlala, intervened to protect Matlala’s Medicare24 contract, and helped facilitate invoice payments tied to the businessman’s ventures.

Senona is expected to testify next year.

kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za

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