The expected appearance of Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) head Advocate Andrea Johnson before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry was postponed on Monday after commissioners were informed that she had been rushed to the hospital hours before she was due to testify.

Johnson was expected to respond to allegations made by former Hawks investigators and protected witnesses linking her to the handling of a criminal investigation involving suspended Crime Intelligence deputy head Major General Feroz Khan.

At the start of proceedings, senior evidence leader Advocate Mahlape Sello told the commission that Johnson would not be available to testify.

“Advocate Andrea Johnson. She unfortunately will not be available today to testify, and her counsel is ready to address the Commission on the circumstances leading to this state of affairs. Thank you,” Sello said.

Johnson’s legal representative, Advocate Bodlani, explained that her legal team received a telephone call shortly before arriving at the hearing venue informing them that she was being taken to the hospital.

“Shortly before my arrival at the venue this morning, the representative of the client received a telephone call from one of Johnson’s protectors, informing us that she is not able to be with us. They are rushing her to hospital. I don’t know what has happened. This happened this morning as we were on the way to the venue,” Bodlani said.

He said the legal team later managed to obtain a medical certificate after speaking to Johnson’s doctor during the commission’s adjournment.

“We were made to understand that she is with the doctor. She had some serious health related issues that I am not able to disclose in public, and that she is being attended to.”

According to Bodlani, the medical certificate states that Johnson is unfit to attend proceedings from Monday, 13 July, until Wednesday, 15 July.

“The medical certificate in our possession indicates that she is not well, at least between today, the 13th of July 2026, including to and including the 15th of July 2026. I do accept that this affects the conduct of the affairs of the Commission because the Commission had its own agenda and programme for the week, but the circumstances are such that the Commission would not be able to conduct its business today in circumstances where the person who is scheduled to be here is not able to be here,” he said.

Sello handed the medical certificate to the commissioners and requested that Johnson’s evidence be postponed to a date still to be determined.

However, commission chairperson retired Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, criticised the medical certificate, saying it contained virtually no useful information.

“I notice that this is one of those medical certificates, the nature of which I’ve previously said are useless in the sense that they give no information whatsoever. It’s not even a case of what Mr Bodlani said, which is confidentiality issues. It’s just one of those useless so called medical certificates,” Madlanga said.

“But anyway, the bottom line is that Advocate Johnson is not here. We are forced in the circumstances to postpone the hearing of Advocate Johnson’s testimony to a date to be determined.”

Johnson’s evidence was expected to be one of the commission’s most closely watched hearings following testimony from several witnesses last week.

A protected witness known only as Witness O told the commission last week that they retained an email allegedly sent by Johnson in July 2018 because they believed it could become important evidence.

The witness testified that Johnson, then a senior prosecutor in the National Prosecuting Authority, allegedly used a personal Gmail account to request documents from a criminal docket relating to an assault and intimidation case involving Khan. Witness O claimed confidential information from the docket was later disclosed to Khan before investigators had obtained his warning statement.

Retired Hawks Colonel Kobus Roelofse also alleged that Johnson interfered in the investigation by requesting documents relating to the case. Hawks Captain Mark McLean further testified that a prosecutor had previously been assigned to consider whether Johnson should face prosecution for allegedly defeating the ends of justice, but that the investigation did not proceed.

Those allegations have not been tested in court, and Johnson has not yet responded to them before the commission.

The Madlanga Commission, chaired by Justice Madlanga, is investigating allegations of criminality, political interference and corruption within South Africa’s criminal justice system. It has heard evidence from senior police officers, prosecutors, investigators and protected witnesses as it examines claims that organised crime infiltrated law enforcement agencies and that investigations into senior officials were improperly influenced.

The commission is expected to announce a new date for Johnson’s testimony.