‘Take the money, and let suspects go’ — JMPD officer details alleged police interference

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The Madlanga Commission has heard allegations that a former JMPD superintendent, Phineas Manyama, put pressure on officers to seek bribes before releasing suspects, threatening…

The Madlanga Commission has heard allegations that a former JMPD superintendent, Phineas Manyama, put pressure on officers to seek bribes before releasing suspects, threatening those who did not comply.

Testimony before the Madlanga Commission on Friday, 13 November, detailed allegations of Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) officers being pressured to release drug suspects, abandon a vehicle pursuit and make a R1.5-million theft case disappear.

The first to take the stand was Constable Michael Potsane, attached to the JMPD’s tactical response unit (TRU), who testified remotely via audio link that former Superintendent Phineas Manyama demanded prior approval for drug operations and threatened officers who refused to follow his instructions.

Potsane’s testimony adds a disturbing operational dimension to warnings about the infiltration of law enforcement by organised criminal networks. It came a day after Dr Ntandazo Sifolo, acting coordinator of the National Intelligence Coordinating Committee (Nicoc), testified that criminal syndicates had become embedded in the state, while political power struggles and corrupt law enforcement officials were compromising security.

Sifolo’s evidence painted an intelligence backdrop to the allegations previously made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. At a media briefing on 6 July 2025, Mkhwanazi alleged that a criminal syndicate involving police officers, prison officials, judges and politicians had infiltrated South Africa’s law enforcement structures and was effectively holding the country hostage.

The commission has previously heard allegations of criminality within the JMPD, from Superintendent Elmarie de Beer, head of its internal affairs unit. She described criminal networks targeting lucrative opportunities and said the unit was aware of allegations involving officers and human trafficking or drugs, although no formal reports had been lodged.

The allegations are not confined…

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