Top Cop Lt-Gen Sindile Mfazi's Murder Investigation Gains Momentum, Police Seize Electronic Devices

• Police say the investigation into the death of top cop Lt-Gen Sindile Mfazi has entered a new phase after officers seized key electronic devices during recent raids
• The latest developments come nearly five years after his death, which was initially blamed on Covid-19 before forensic findings raised suspicions of murder
• As investigators pursue several persons of interest, the case is gathering momentum and could bring long-awaited answers

SOUTH AFRICA - The investigation into the death of former South African Police Service (SAPS) deputy national commissioner of Crime Detection Lieutenant-General Sindile Mfazi has entered a new phase after police seized electronic devices during raids on properties linked to SAPS members.

The latest developments come almost five years after Mfazi's death, with police confirming that more operations are expected as investigators pursue several persons of interest.

Mfazi died on 8 July 2021, and his death was initially announced as being due to Covid-19-related complications. However, his family and some former colleagues suspected from the beginning that there was a more sinister cause behind his death.

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Police seize evidence during raids

SAPS spokesperson Athlenda Mathe confirmed that investigators raided two properties in Gauteng and are interviewing a person of interest.

She said police are deliberately withholding the identities of those being questioned because the investigation remains highly sensitive.

She added that investigators have seized several electronic devices that will be analysed alongside evidence collected since the case was handed over to the SAPS Cold Case Unit in July 2021.

Mathe also revealed that search and seizure operations are still underway and more addresses could be targeted.

"We do confirm that we are investigating a full-scale murder investigation," she said.

See video about the raids here:

From Covid-19 death to murder investigation

When Mfazi died on 8 July 2021 at the age of 59, SAPS announced that he had died from Covid-19-related complications.

However, his family questioned the official explanation and successfully applied to have his body exhumed for an independent forensic examination.

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The toxicology report later found that Mfazi had allegedly been poisoned with liquid casting resin, an industrial chemical that reportedly caused him to choke to death. The findings transformed what was believed to be a natural death into a suspected assassination.

Corruption investigations under scrutiny

Mfazi was one of SAPS' most senior detectives and was investigating several high-profile corruption matters before his death, including reviewing the controversial Phala Phala farm burglary case.

According to evidence presented to Parliament, he was probing the SAPS Secret Services Account and an alleged R1.6 billion Covid-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) procurement scandal.

Former Crime Intelligence warrant officer Pilasande Dotyeni recently told Parliament's ad hoc committee that Mfazi continued investigating suspicious activities at SAPS headquarters even after he was transferred to the Western Cape.

Dotyeni said he believes Mfazi was killed because of the investigations he was leading.

"When one of those generals is assassinated and buried under the lie of Covid-19 demands of us as citizens to speak to those who are in power, to plead with them to do something. It has been five years," he told the committee.

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Dotyeni also testified that Mfazi has confided in him his belief that the police headquarters had been infiltrated by criminal elements. He further claimed that senior SAPS officials removed Mfazi's investigation files from his home shortly after he died, before his widow arrived, leading to suspicions of foul play in his death.

SAPS raid officer Fanie Nkosi's home

In related news, the South African Police Service raided the house of a police officer in Tshwane who was implicated at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. According to reports the home raided belongs to Sergeant Fannie Nkosi, who testified as a witness at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. Nkosi was taken taken into custody and remains behind bars after multiple failed bail applications. It was he second time his house had been raided.

Raid on Feroz Khan's property

Previously, Briefly News reported that law enforcement officials executed a search and seizure warrant at an upmarket apartment block in Houghton, Johannesburg,belonging to Mahor General Feroz Khan. Members of a task team, backed by other law enforcement units, reportedly began the operation just after 6 am on 10 May 2026. General Khan was the head of the South African Police Service’s Counter-Intelligence and Security Intelligence. In 2025, he was moved to another division within Crime Intelligence. His name has featured during testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.

Source: Briefly News