Former Prosecutor Accuses Paul O’Sullivan of Capturing IPID, Says He Interfered With Investigations
- A former senior prosecutor has discussed Paul O’Sullivan's alleged influence at the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID)
- Advocate Michael Mashuga also claimed that O’Sullivan made allegations against him after he decided to prosecute the forensic investigator
- Khomotso Phahlane and Cedric Nkabinde previously alleged that O’Sullivan held power at IPID, and the South African Police Service (SAPS)
Source: Twitter
Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.
WESTERN CAPE – A former prosecutor has accused Paul O’Sullivan of capturing the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).
Advocate Michael Mashuga testified before Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee on 4 March 2026 that the forensic investigator interfered in the operations of the IPID.
Mashuga was testifying before the committee that is probing allegations of criminality, political interference and corruption within the criminal justice system. The allegations were made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
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What did Mashuga say?
During his testimony, Mashuga claimed that IPID was effectively under O’Sullivan’s control. He also accused the forensic investigator of impersonating IPID officials and illegally accessing Khomotso Phahlane’s private information.
O’Sullivan previously accompanied IPID investigators to Phahlane’s home as part of an investigation into the former Acting National Police Commissioner. O’Sullivan was arrested for allegedly impersonating an IPID officer, but the matter was struck off the roll and never re-enrolled.
Mashuga explained that this was because O’Sullivan was interfering with the case.
“I will place evidence before this committee that the IPID investigation at that stage was not independent because it was infiltrated and led by O’Sullivan and Sarah Jane Trent,” Mashuga said.
He also alleged that O’Sullivan accused him of state capture after he decided to prosecute the forensic investigator for violating the IPID Act. O’Sullivan will return to face the committee on 5 March 2026, a week after he walked out of Parliament. O’Sullivan walked out of the proceedings before he was formally released by the Ad Hoc Committee Chairperson, Soviet Lekganyane.
He will be followed by his then-assistant, Trent.
Source: Twitter
O’Sullivan was accused of capturing IPID before
Mashuga is not the first person to accuse O’Sullivan of capturing IPID. Phahlane also said that O’Sullivan had control over IPID, even saying that he once ‘opined that it was O’Sullivan Police Investigative Directorate (OPID)’.
He said that it wasn’t just IPID that O’Sullivan had control over, as he also wielded power in the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
It wasn’t just Phahlane who made the allegations. Senzo Mchunu’s Chief of Staff, Cedric Nkabinde, also accused O’Sullivan of wielding unnatural power in IPID, SAPS and the NPA. The forensic investigator sent both men threatening messages after they made the allegations against him.
O'Sullivan justifies his walkout
Briefly News reported that O’Sullivan discussed why he walked out of Parliament and shared his thoughts about whether he was wrong.
The uMkhonto weSizwe' Party's Siboniso Nomvalo criticised O'Sullivan's conduct, saying that he belonged in jail.
Mdumiseni Ntuli, the Chief Whip of the African National Congress (ANC), also discussed O'Sullivans conduct in Parliament.
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Source: Briefly News
