Sunday World has seen extracts of confidential correspondence between forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan, legal representatives of the Madlanga commission and the National Prosecuting Authority detailing four occasions on which he engaged officials from the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac).
The exchanges cover allegations of death squads in KwaZulu-Natal, a legal attempt to obtain evidence about Louis Vuitton bags allegedly given to senior police officers, a search for a witness statement and a corruption complaint involving police officials in Mpumalanga.
‘Strictly private and confidential’
The correspondence was marked “STRICTLY PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL” and followed O’Sullivan being told that his name had been mentioned at the commission in a manner suggesting he had tried to influence Idac.
It records his position that he had “never solicited information from Idac, other than through a formal legal process”.
Alleged death squads
The first engagement concerned an informant who approached O’Sullivan’s Forensics for Justice organisation with claims about alleged death squads operating in KwaZulu-Natal.
The correspondence states that the matter “fizzled out” because the informant “could not provide substantial corroborative evidence” and later “went to ground”.
Louis Vuitton bags
The second interaction involved an attempt to obtain information from Idac about Louis Vuitton bags allegedly received by National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola and KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi from a corrupt police supplier.
According to the correspondence, O’Sullivan’s attorneys served a subpoena duces tecum on Idac “to obtain information” about the bags.
It states that the matter had already been included in evidence submitted to the commission and was “nothing new”.
The correspondence further records an expectation that the commission would obtain the evidence from Idac, including a sworn statement by Brig Ras, and place it before Mkhwanazi when he returned to testify.
Khuba’s sworn statement
The third interaction arose while O’Sullivan was searching for a sworn statement by Humbulani Khuba, which he believed might be in Idac’s possession.
The correspondence states that the document was not held by Idac and was instead obtained directly from former Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) head Robert McBride before being submitted to the commission.
“It turned out it wasn’t, so I got it directly from Robert McBride and submitted it as evidence,” the correspondence states. It records that former Ipid investigators who later joined Idac were approached because they had previously worked with Khuba.
The contact was described as informal and conducted “not in their Idac capacity”.
Alleged corruption by police officials in Mpumalanga
The fourth engagement concerned a Section 27 complaint lodged in November 2025 involving alleged corruption by police officials in Mpumalanga.
The correspondence states that Idac referred the matter to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation. It records that the police captain implicated in the complaint “has been dismissed from the police and is awaiting trial for corruption”.
The exchanges also address O’Sullivan’s professional status after he was described as a private investigator.
The correspondence states: “I am not now, and never have been, a private investigator.” It instead describes him as a Certified Fraud Examiner and criminologist whose organisations conduct public-interest and corporate forensic investigations.
The correspondence concludes that all four interactions had been disclosed and records a willingness to provide the same account under oath. “I have made a full disclosure of all my interactions with Idac above and am happy to do so under oath, if required,” it states.
- Forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan engaged four times with the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) on issues including death squads and alleged corruption involving Louis Vuitton bags given to police officers.
- The investigation into alleged death squads in KwaZulu-Natal ended due to lack of substantial corroborative evidence as the informant disappeared.
- O’Sullivan's legal team served a subpoena on Idac to obtain information related to Louis Vuitton bags allegedly received by police commissioners Fannie Masemola and Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
- A searched sworn statement by Humbulani Khuba was not held by Idac but was obtained from former IPID head Robert McBride and submitted as evidence.
- A Section 27 complaint about alleged corruption in Mpumalanga police led to a police captain's dismissal and pending trial for corruption.
It records his position that he had “never solicited information from Idac, other than through a formal legal process”.
It states that the matter had already been included in evidence submitted to the commission and was “nothing new”.
“It turned out it wasn’t, so I got it directly from Robert McBride and submitted it as evidence,” the correspondence states. It records that former Ipid investigators who later joined Idac were approached because they had previously worked with
