‘SA was close to gone’ — evidence outlines alleged plot to implode country

Detailed summary

Striking testimony from an intelligence chief reveals how close he believed South Africa came to being comprehensively captured by a vast web of colluders. This is exceptionally…

Striking testimony from an intelligence chief reveals how close he believed South Africa came to being comprehensively captured by a vast web of colluders. This is exceptionally worrying when paired with other developments, including the targeting of Crime Intelligence officers and suspected dodgy dealings in the anti-corruption directorate.

“There was a clear picture that if we don’t do anything now, the country is gone; that is just the long and short of it.”

This single sentence, uttered by Dr Ntandazo Sifolo, acting head of the National Intelligence Coordinating Committee (Nicoc), reveals how close South Africa allegedly came to being totally captured.

Sifolo testified at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry last week, on Thursday, 12 November 2026, adding to accusations that a vast web of colluders, inside and outside the State, had worked to disable the criminal justice system.

Sifolo’s testimony merged various elements of suspected State infiltration.

Pairing it with what other witnesses have already told the Madlanga Commission and related happenings outside the hearings provides the most comprehensive picture so far of what is alleged to have been a collective effort to subvert the State.

All this has also produced accusations of malfeasance in critical structures meant to ensure our safety, including the:

This scandal became public on 6 July 2025, when KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi held an unprecedented press conference.

He warned that a cartel involved in vast lawbreaking, later identified as the Big Five, had infiltrated South Africa’s criminal justice system, politics and the private sector.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Daily Maverick. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.