Friday 30 October 2026 — five days to the polls, and the state’s own corruption fighters are in handcuffs.
1. Ex-IDAC boss Andrea Johnson arrested with ex-SAPS general Feroz Khan
Advocate Andrea Johnson, former head of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption, and former Crime Intelligence deputy head Major-General Feroz Khan — both 56 — were arrested on Friday morning.
- Charge: defeating the ends of justice.
- Police say it traces to a Silverton assault case where the female suspect, then an NPA employee, interfered with the docket.
- Both are expected to appear in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court.
- Colonel Amanda van Wyk: “we cannot rule out any further arrests.”
2. Five days to the ballot — DA loses one-name list fight
The Electoral Court in Bloemfontein, with Acting Judge Mangcu-Lockwood presiding, dismissed the DA’s bid to declare the one-name PR lists of ActionSA, the EFF, the MK Party and GOOD unlawful.
- The DA argued the lists hide candidates from voters and let parties add names after the count.
- Voting is Wednesday 4 November.
- The PA held its final rally; the IEC flagged an AI-generated Nelson Mandela video.
- Limpopo’s police chief warned: “Limpopo is no playground” for election disruptors.
- Matric exams pause for three days over the vote.
3. EFF demands probe of R12-million State Security slush fund
The EFF has asked SARS, the Public Protector, the Auditor-General, Parliament’s intelligence committee and the Inspector-General on Intelligence to investigate R12-million the SSA allegedly spent to destabilise the party.
- Judge Mashudu Munzhelele granted the EFF access to trial records in the case of Patrick Mshothola and Thulani Dlomo.
- It is the first SSA prosecution flowing from the Zondo commission and the High Level Review Panel.
- The alleged spying happened under then minister David Mahlobo, now deputy water and sanitation minister.
4. NPA freezes R99-million “Joe Ferrari” empire
The NPA secured a provisional restraint order over R99-million in assets linked to Mpumalanga taxi boss Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni — extortion and money-laundering territory.
- A taxi driver was jailed for murdering three learners in a road-rage case.
- Cape Town commuters were stranded by a taxi go-slow at the airport.
5. Money: banks trim bonuses, retail squeezed, ports still broken
- FirstRand cut executive bonuses over the UK motor commission matter.
- Dis-Chem’s earnings slid even as tech spending doubled.
- Minister Creecy warned the Durban Pier 2 backlog will take months to clear.
- Government is dangling chicken and pork concessions to Washington to keep AGOA alive.
Madlanga / justice watch
The Johnson-Khan arrest is the story the Madlanga commission was built for: the people meant to investigate corruption are now in the dock for allegedly defeating justice. Watch the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court appearance and whether more arrests follow — that is the test of whether IDAC’s work survives its own leadership crisis.
Why it matters
Five days before a local election, the state’s anti-corruption unit is being arrested, the courts are still refereeing the ballot paper, and R12-million of spy money is being fought over in open court. Accountability is not a slogan this week — it is a court roll.