Overview
- The Gauteng Provincial Government confirmed that Chief Inspector Samuel Mashaba died at Milpark Hospital on Tuesday, 13 October 2026 while he was on suspension.
- Mashaba was suspended after he testified at the Madlanga Commission in June 2026, where commissioners pressed him about undeclared personal ties to an informant linked to the Aeroton operation.
- The Aeroton operation on 9 July 2021 uncovered 715.86 kilograms of cocaine concealed in cargo from Durban Harbour, and at least 136.46 kilograms later went missing from the SAPS forensic laboratory.
- Mashaba and three others were arrested by the Hawks on the day of the seizure and charged with defeating the ends of justice and drug dealing, but the NPA provisionally withdrew the case in October 2022 and closed it in early 2024.
- With criminal prosecution closed but internal disciplinary steps and the Madlanga Commission record still unresolved, officials have not announced outcomes and relatives and colleagues have received public condolences, leaving questions about accountability and next steps for oversight.