South Africa: Spy Chief Suspended After Complaint to Parliament

16 October 2025
Scrolla (Johannesburg)
By Dylan Bettencourt
  • President Cyril Ramaphosa suspended Inspector-General Imtiaz Fazel after a complaint about his behaviour reached Parliament's intelligence committee, which has started an investigation.
  • The suspension follows claims that Imtiaz Fazel was used by politicians to interfere in police investigations into a Gauteng drug cartel.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has suspended Inspector-General of Intelligence Imtiaz Fazel with immediate effect.

The Presidency said on Wednesday night that the decision followed a complaint about Fazel's behaviour. Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence (JSCI) will now investigate.

The Presidency said section 7 of the Intelligence Services Act allows the president to suspend the Inspector-General while an investigation is underway.

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Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the law clearly states that if the Inspector-General is being investigated by the JSCI, the president may suspend them until the investigation is complete.

The suspension comes weeks after KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi told the Madlanga Commission that Fazel was being used by politicians to block police investigations into a Gauteng drug cartel.

News24 also reported that Fazel recommended criminal charges against national police commissioner Fannie Masemola and Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo.

In June, Khumalo was arrested at OR Tambo International Airport as part of a corruption probe into property deals worth R45 million. He is accused of buying a hotel in Pretoria North and a building in Durban without ministerial approval.

Ramaphosa appointed Fazel as Inspector-General on 1 November 2022 after a public process where 25 people applied and 12 were interviewed.

The Inspector-General oversees South Africa's spy agencies, including the State Security Agency, Defence Intelligence and Police Crime Intelligence.

Read the original article on Scrolla.

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