The country’s authorities have announced an investigation into the motive behind Major General Feroz Khan’s shooting
A senior South African police officer has survived an assassination attempt after being shot in Johannesburg, the country’s authorities said on Monday.
Major General Feroz Khan, deputy head of crime intelligence, was wounded on Sunday evening in Houghton, an affluent suburb of Johannesburg, after being attacked, the South African Police Service (SAPS) said in a statement. He was driving home when the attack occurred and has since been rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery, according to local media.
Khan had been expected to appear before the Madlanga Commission on July 1, a judicial inquiry probing claims of corruption, interference, and misconduct within elements of the South Africa’s police and intelligence structures.
The allegations were brought forward last July by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, triggering the suspension of the country’s police minister, Senzo Mchunu. Mkhwanazi claimed the suspended police chief had conspired with a criminal network and interfered with investigations into high-profile assassinations.
On Thursday, businessman and police informant Tumelo Nku told the Madlanga Commission that Khan ordered his arrest after he was identified as the whistleblower behind a 2021 drug bust in Aeroton, which led to one of South Africa’s largest narcotics seizures, IOL reported.
The SAPS said it has launched an investigation into the attempted murder of Khan, warning that “it is premature and irresponsible to speculate on any possible motive or to conclude that the incident is linked to his anticipated appearance before the commission.”
“The South African Police Service views any attempt to intimidate, silence or attack any individual involved in judicial processes in the most serious light,” the police stated.
Acting National Commissioner Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane condemned the attack and said “no resource will be spared” in identifying and arresting those responsible.
Earlier in June, the South African Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police called for Khan’s suspension following his arrest in May, arguing that any officer facing allegations of wrongdoing should be removed from active duty to protect ongoing investigations and maintain public trust.
Committee chair Ian Cameron said the arrest of a senior crime intelligence officer “undermines a strategic pillar of policing” and exposed “the extent of the rot that continues to plague the SAPS Crime Intelligence environment.”
