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Police have threatened to lay charges against Gauteng Hawks head Maj-Gen Ebrahim Kadwa for refusing to give them access to his phone, which he argues contains “state secrets”. The phone was seized by police in May during Kadwa’s arrest in a case related to a breach of the Precious Metals Act and a charge of defeating and obstructing the course of justice. Kadwa has taken minister of police Firoz Cachalia, the Madlanga commission and investigating officer WO Calvin Khorommbi to court in a bid to have his phone, which was seized without a search warrant, returned to him. In opposing the application, police officer Nkosingiphile Mathenjwa, who arrested Kadwa, has in turn accused the top cop of disobeying a warrant for him to give the police access to the phone. Kadwa has refused to give the police the phone password on the basis that it was seized unlawfully without a warrant.Mathenjwa argues the seizure of the phone was lawful. “The mobile cellular phone that was seized from the applicant [Kadwa] is a property of the state. The information contained in it belongs to the state,” Mathenjwa argues. He relies on the fact that the phone was seized because Kadwa had it in his possession during the arrest.“I am a peace officer and a police official. I am authorised by section 23 of the Criminal Procedure Act to search the person arrested and seize any article which is found in the possession of, custody of or under the control of the person arrested. “I am authorised to seize the article if it is concerned in or is on reasonable grounds believed to be concerned in the commission or suspected commission of an offence or may afford evidence of the commission or suspected commission of an offence.” Kadwa faces a charge of defeating and obstructing the course of justice.Kadwa and police crime intelligence operational support head Maj-Gen Feroz Khan are accused of instructing a police officer to release a suspect and businessperson, Tariq Downes, from custody in 2021.Mathenjwa, in his affidavit, says he believes the phone may have evidence linked to the case against Kadwa.“Subsequent to the seizure of the device, [Kadwa] refused to provide us with the information to access the information in it. As a result, on May 20 2026, the investigating officer obtained a Cybercrimes Act warrant to access the device. READ | Feroz Khan linked to R280m Treasury tender kickbacks, affidavit alleges“The warrant was served on him, but he refused to comply with it; his legal representative, Mr Patel, also instructed him to refuse. Both of them committed a crime in terms of the Cybercrimes Act. Our attorneys have demanded immediate compliance with the warrant; otherwise, criminal charges will be laid against them,” said Mathenjwa. The Cybercrimes Act states that any person who hinders a police official or who refuses to comply with a search warrant issued is guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or to both a fine and such imprisonment.The police have kept Kadwa’s phone because the Madlanga commission “requested the respondents [police] to keep the device so that the [commission] can be able to access it if a need to extract any further data from it arises,” Mathenjwa contends.“The devices are still under regulation 10(6) [of the commission], and the [Madlanga commission] has not authorised the [police] to hand them over to any person other than the [police]. This means that the item is held under the authority of the seizure and regulation. Both are lawful authorities that allowed the seizure and the keeping of the device.” The rule quoted by the police allows the chair to summon any person to produce a document in his or her possession or under his or her control that has a bearing on a matter being investigated. The Madlanga commission has filed a notice to abide by the decision of the court and has not entered the litigation fray against Kadwa. The urgent application is set to be heard in the high court in Johannesburg this week.
