‘The country was gone’: Sifolo says NICOC intervention prevented worse criminal intelligence infiltration - IOL
National Intelligence Coordinating Committee (NICOC) co-ordinator, Dr Ntandazo Sifolo, said the unit has saved the crime intelligence unit from worsening.
The acting National Intelligence Coordinating Committee (NICOC), Dr Ntandazo Sifolo, painted a picture that South Africa would have been hijacked had the unit not taken control of the Crime Intelligence operation in February 2025.
Testifying before the Madlanga Commission on Thursday, Sifolo warned that the situation had become so serious that the country could have been effectively compromised had NICOC not stepped in to take control of the Crime Intelligence operation in February 2025.
Asked by co-commissioner Advocate Sandile Khumalo what could have happened without the intervention, Sifolo delivered a stark assessment.
“The country was gone, and in fact the head of the crime intelligence had surrendered,” he said, explaining that a deadline had been set for the submission of a project that allegedly mapped multiple layers of infiltration.
“… So there was a clear picture that if we don't do anything now, the country is gone”.
He said NICOC's intervention followed mounting concerns about fractured intelligence operations and the growing influence of criminal syndicates within law enforcement.
NICOC moved to coordinate intelligence operations involving the South African Police Service's Crime Intelligence, Defence Intelligence and the State Security Agency (SSA) after concerns emerged over fragmented reporting.
The threats under scrutiny included kidnappings, targeted killings, drug trafficking, extortion and illegal firearms operations.
Sifolo pointed to a series of alarming developments, including the leaking of classified Inspector-General of Intelligence reports and the arrest of senior police officials by fellow officers, as evidence of a criminal justice system under severe strain.
He said officers still committed to enforcing the law had increasingly limited options and were left with the need to mobilise public support to expose the alleged infiltration.
Sifolo also linked this thinking to KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi's explosive July 6 briefing, which brought allegations of criminal networks operating within the criminal justice system into the national spotlight.
He further told the commission that President Cyril Ramaphosa had been alerted to potential national security threats six days before Mkhwanazi's public briefing.
