JOHANNESBURG, Thursday 3 September 2026 — Former Crime Intelligence deputy head Major-General Feroz Khan is preparing a legal challenge to his dismissal from the South African Police Service, adding a new court fight to a case already linked to internal disciplinary proceedings, criminal allegations and the Madlanga Commission.
Khan’s lawyers confirmed to Eyewitness News on Thursday that they intend to challenge his dismissal, a day after SAPS formally announced that he had been deemed dismissed under its disciplinary regulations.
Police said Khan was dismissed in terms of Regulation 9(7)(b) of the SAPS Discipline Regulations after he failed to appear before the senior officer responsible for an expedited disciplinary process.
SAPS spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said the service remained committed to accountability and that no member was above the disciplinary framework.
The dismissal followed an internal disciplinary process dealing with allegations of misconduct and conduct said to have brought SAPS into disrepute.
Khan did not attend that process.
His legal team says he was medically unable to participate after being shot earlier this year and has argued that proceeding in his absence was unfair.
The lawyers’ confirmation of further litigation is a material development because Khan has already tried unsuccessfully to stop the disciplinary process through the Labour Court.
Earlier this week, the court struck his urgent application off the roll.
Reporting on the ruling said the court found that it did not have jurisdiction to grant the relief sought and that Khan had not established sufficient urgency.
The court’s decision did not determine the merits of all the underlying misconduct allegations against Khan.
His planned challenge is expected instead to focus on the legality and fairness of the process through which his employment was terminated.
Khan’s lawyers have argued that SAPS proceeded while he was medically incapacitated and that his failure to attend should not automatically have resulted in dismissal.
SAPS has defended its approach and said it will respect ongoing court proceedings.
Khan remains a significant figure in the broader crisis surrounding senior law-enforcement structures.
He is expected to appear before the Madlanga Commission on 28 September, subject to an independent medical assessment ordered by commission chair Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga.
The commission has been examining allegations of corruption, criminal infiltration and political interference involving senior officials in SAPS and related institutions.
Khan has also been linked to separate criminal proceedings.
He was arrested earlier this year alongside Gauteng Hawks head Major-General Ebrahim Kadwa and businessman Tariq Downes on allegations including defeating or obstructing the course of justice and contraventions of the Precious Metals Act.
Those allegations remain before the courts and have not resulted in convictions.
The latest legal challenge will therefore run separately from both the criminal case and the Madlanga Commission proceedings.
It will primarily determine whether SAPS lawfully ended Khan’s employment under its disciplinary regulations despite his absence from the expedited process.
Any successful challenge could reopen the employment dispute or force SAPS to reconsider aspects of the disciplinary procedure.
If the dismissal stands, Khan will nevertheless remain subject to the separate criminal proceedings and to the commission’s subpoena unless formally excused.
