A Brigadier General attached to the Intelligence Division of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has appeared in court on a charge of corruption involving R1.5 million.
Johannes Prince Mkhabela, 53, made a brief appearance before the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), it is alleged that on February 13, 2026, Mkhabela met with an investigating officer who was probing a case of intimidation against him.
NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said the accused allegedly paid the investigating officer R50,000 as a deposit and promised to pay the outstanding balance by September 2026 in exchange for the destruction of the case docket.
“It is alleged that the accused paid the investigating officer R50,000 and undertook to settle the balance by September 2026 in return for the docket to be destroyed,” Mahanjana said.
She added that members of the Madlanga Commission Task Team arrested Mkhabela following the exchange.
The matter has been postponed to February 20, 2026, for bail investigations.
Mkabela was serving as Director Special Acquisition within Defence Intelligence at the time of his arrest.
He started his military career as a volunteer in the then South African Defence Force, joining in 1989. After becoming a qualified paramedic and instructor, he served as an avionics technician in the SA Air Force.
He went back to the South African Military Health Service (SAMHS) as a Corporal, and joined 7 Medical Battalion Group, whose main task is to render medical support to the South African Airborne and Special Forces.
In 1996 Mkabela was promoted to Lieutenant and at 7 Medical Battalion Group became Officer Commanding training. He was later transferred to the Presidential Protection Unit, where he was in charge of the medical unit.
After two deployments to Darfur under Joint Operations command and some more time with the SAMHS, Mkabela was recruited to Defence Intelligence in 2010.
