JOHANNESBURG — The Madlanga Commission, an inquiry into alleged police corruption in South Africa headed by retired Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, is examining the theft of seized cocaine and irregular tender awards. Testimony in 2024 has centered on the awarding of a contract to Medicare24 Tshwane District and the disappearance of hundreds of kilograms of confiscated drugs.

In June 2021, South African police seized 541kg of cocaine hidden in a shipping container carrying animal bone meal in Durban. Five months later, the confiscated cocaine was stolen from a poorly secured building owned by the Hawks, the police’s elite unit. Major General Hendrik Flynn told the commission that officers failed to collect DNA or fingerprint samples from the theft scene and that the drugs were stored in a building lacking proper security despite safer alternatives nearby. "I am of the view that it is no coincidence and that the sequence of events is indeed by design," Flynn said.

In July 2021, police seized 700kg of cocaine from a warehouse in southern Johannesburg, where it was hidden among lorry parts. Marumo Magane, an analytics officer with no investigative experience, testified that he responded to a tip-off about the seizure alongside a senior traffic officer. They entered a logistics company premises without a search warrant and later ordered the drugs unloaded onto his police-issued lorry at a warehouse in southern Johannesburg. Magane admitted he did not contact the unit responsible for processing crime scenes and acknowledged a series of errors, including tampering with evidence. He maintained he had no intention of stealing the drugs. Staff at the warehouse grew suspicious and called local police, prompting the arrival of a Hawks investigating officer.

Brigadier Rachel Matjeng, who oversaw a 2024 tender awarded to Medicare24 Tshwane District—a company owned by Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala—testified that she and Matlala were in an on-off romantic relationship that lasted until his arrest. She denied receiving kickbacks and said he had given her gifts, including shots of the weight-loss drug Ozempic. "So, for me, from my boyfriend [Matlala], I only ask for Ozempic, unlike those that ask for BBL (sic)." The contract was canceled a year after it was awarded, and Matjeng is among a dozen senior officers formally charged over the tender. None have yet entered pleas in court.