A top South African police officer was gunned down on his way home just days before he was set to expose secrets at a bombshell corruption probe.

One of South Africa’s most senior police officers has survived what looks like an assassination attempt in Johannesburg, cbinews.tv reports.

Suspended deputy crime intelligence boss Maj-Gen Feroz Khan was shot on Sunday evening while driving home. Local media report he was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery.

The timing is raising eyebrows. Khan was due to testify within days at the Madlanga commission. That is a public inquiry investigating claims that organised crime has infiltrated South Africa’s police force. He hasn’t commented publicly on the shooting or the allegations against him.

Khan, along with two others, was arrested in May over alleged illegal gold dealing. The case relates to a 2021 incident at OR Tambo International Airport, where a businessman was caught with 75.9g of unwrought gold. The man claimed he was an undercover agent for senior officers. Prosecutors later said no authorised operation existed, and alleged Khan had ordered officers to release him. Khan was freed on bail.

South African police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe said on Monday that police are investigating the shooting. “It is premature and irresponsible to speculate on any possible motive or to conclude that the incident is linked to his anticipated appearance before the,” she said, as reported by *cbinews.tv*.[inquiry]

The Madlanga commission was set up after Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi alleged last July that criminal syndicates had infiltrated government. Khan’s name came up several times during proceedings, including over a botched drug bust in Johannesburg in 2021.

Local publication *Daily Maverick* says Khan was expected to face questions about alleged ties to politician Julius Malema and political fixer Brown Mogotsi. Earlier this month, Khan asked the Johannesburg High Court to block the inquiry from accessing electronic devices seized during his arrest, and wanted his testimony heard behind closed doors. He later dropped both requests.

This isn’t the first time someone linked to the inquiry has been attacked. In December, a witness was killed in front of his family just three weeks after giving testimony.

Khan has not commented.

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