Major General Feroz Khan has been fired from the South African Police Service, with his lawyers saying they will be moving swiftly to challenge the decision in court after his dismissal was confirmed on Wednesday night.

SAPS confirmed that Khan, who served as the deputy head of Crime Intelligence, had been dismissed after failing to appear before a designated senior officer responsible for dealing with his disciplinary proceedings.

But Khan’s legal team has rejected the dismissal, arguing that their client was medically incapacitated and was not afforded a fair and meaningful opportunity to defend himself.

His legal representative, Muhammad Vally, confirmed to eNCA that the lawyers had received the SAPS notice confirming Khan’s dismissal and said they would take the matter to court.

Vally said the legal team’s position had remained unchanged throughout the disciplinary process.

They maintain that Khan should have been allowed a fair opportunity to defend himself and argue that the dismissal was the result of what they described as “procedural default” rather than a finding that he was guilty of misconduct.

“It is opportunistic to proceed against a medically incapacitated employee, which we maintain is fundamentally at odds with the principles of fairness that govern public-sector discipline,” Vally said.

He added that the legal team believed there had been other irregular conduct which would be challenged before the appropriate forum.

SAPS, however, said Khan’s dismissal was triggered by his failure to attend the disciplinary proceedings.

The police service said Khan was deemed dismissed in terms of Regulation 9(7)(b) of the SAPS Discipline Regulations.

SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the organisation remained committed to accountability, discipline and professional conduct.

“No member, regardless of rank or position, is above the law or the applicable disciplinary framework,” Mathe said.

The dismissal comes at a particularly damaging time for Khan, who is also under scrutiny at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into criminality, political interference and corruption in the criminal justice system.

Ironically, Vally was at the commission on Tuesday defending Khan’s failure to appear before it, with his medical condition and the validity of a medical certificate becoming a major point of contention.

The commission heard troubling evidence about the medical certificate that Khan relied on to explain his inability to attend proceedings.

Evidence leader Advocate Adila Hassim questioned the circumstances surrounding changes made to the document, including an alteration to the date on which Khan was supposedly fit to return to work.

The doctor who issued the certificate indicated that changes had been made after a request from Khan’s son.

The commission heard that the doctor had expressed concern about altering a certificate that had already been issued and warned that doing so could potentially amount to fraud.

The doctor further indicated that he was told the original certificate had not been submitted to Khan’s employer.

However, evidence before the commission raised questions about whether the certificate had in fact been submitted to SAPS.

The controversy has now become part of the wider scrutiny surrounding Khan’s conduct and his attempts to avoid appearing before the commission.

Khan has yet to give evidence before the inquiry. He is expected to testify on 28 September 2026.

The commission has postponed his testimony and imposed conditions relating to his medical condition, including an independent medical assessment should he seek to rely on his health to avoid appearing in person.

Khan is also facing serious allegations relating to Crime Intelligence, including claims concerning the handling of a multimillion-rand cocaine seizure.

The allegations have not been tested in court, and Khan has denied wrongdoing.

The issue has also attracted the attention of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police.

Committee chairperson Ian Cameron welcomed Khan’s dismissal, saying he had long pushed for accountability in the matter.

“I welcome the decision,” Cameron said in a post on X.

“We have pushed for accountability in this matter for a long time. Khan repeatedly turned to litigation as the disciplinary process progressed, but accountability cannot be litigated away.”

Cameron said the criminal proceedings and outstanding matters before the Madlanga Commission must now be allowed to run their course.

In an interview following the dismissal, Cameron said allegations concerning the alleged theft of cocaine had already been raised in the Portfolio Committee on Police at the end of 2024.

He recalled that shortly after raising the matter, he received a letter from Khan’s lawyers threatening legal action.

Cameron said Khan had developed a pattern of using litigation in attempts to challenge or delay processes involving him.

For Khan, Wednesday night’s dismissal therefore marks a significant new chapter in an already escalating legal battle.

His lawyers are preparing to challenge the decision in court, while the Madlanga Commission is still waiting for Khan to answer questions surrounding the allegations against him.

The legal challenge could now determine whether SAPS followed the correct disciplinary procedure in dismissing one of its most senior Crime Intelligence figures.

At the same time, Khan’s unresolved appearance before the Madlanga Commission means his troubles extend well beyond his employment with the police.

His dismissal may have ended his career in SAPS, but the legal and accountability battles surrounding him are far from over.