South African police are investigating an attempted assassination after deputy crime intelligence boss Feroz Khan was shot in Johannesburg on Sunday evening while driving home.
Khan was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery following the shooting, local media reported.
The attack comes days before Khan was due to appear before a public inquiry investigating alleged criminality within South Africa’s police service.
The inquiry, known as the Madlanga commission, was established after senior officer Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi alleged last July that organised crime groups had infiltrated government.
In a statement released on Monday, police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said investigators were still assessing the incident and warned against speculation about the motive or any link to the upcoming appearance before the inquiry.
Khan, along with two others, was arrested in May over unlawful possession of precious metals.
The allegations relate to a 2021 incident at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport in which a businessman was found with unwrought gold weighing 75.9g.
The businessman claimed he was acting as an undercover agent linked to senior police officers.
Investigators later found that no authorised undercover operation involving precious metals existed at the time, and prosecutors said in May that Khan and another officer had instructed officers to release the businessman.
Khan has not yet commented on the allegations.
JN/APA