Forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan testified before South Africa’s Parliament ad hoc committee on 10 February 2026, denying any role in intelligence activities or as a foreign agent. He detailed his background as a police reservist and anti-corruption efforts, while facing questions about his qualifications and pre-1990 ties. The committee is probing allegations of a criminal cartel infiltrating the justice system, first raised by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi in July 2025.
Paul O’Sullivan, a 70-year-old forensic investigator with citizenship in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and South Africa, appeared before Parliament’s ad hoc committee on 10 February 2026. The committee is investigating claims by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, made in July 2025, of a criminal cartel infiltrating South Africa’s criminal justice system, politics, and private security. O’Sullivan, who has lived in South Africa for about 40 years, insisted he has never been involved in intelligence activities. “Since living in this country, I have not been involved in any way, shape or form with any intelligence activity whatsoever,” he told the committee.
Born in the UK and raised in Ireland, O’Sullivan worked in British counterterrorism and counterespionage in the 1970s. He gained permanent residency in South Africa in 1989 as a person of independent means and became a police reservist in the South African Police Service from 1990 to 2002. During this period, he trained 1,500 reservists in Johannesburg, including Cyril Ramaphosa in 1997, who was then a businessman and received an award as the most conscientious student.
O’Sullivan described his role at OR Tambo International Airport, where in 2001 he oversaw security at 10 airports. He canceled R300-million contracts with Khuselani Security and Risk Management over corruption concerns, leading to a criminal docket against payments to senior Airports Company South Africa employees and then-police commissioner Jackie Selebi, who was later convicted of corruption and died in 2015. O’Sullivan reported about 10 attempts on his life over 15 years, including being shot three times in 1996 and a bullet grazing his thigh.
Committee evidence leader Norman Arendse questioned O’Sullivan’s background, suggesting it could be a “perfect front” for intelligence work or a series of coincidences. O’Sullivan denied this, stating, “As god is my witness, I was never involved with the security police in SA.” He conceded having no formal qualifications beyond O-levels and A-levels equivalent to matric, describing himself as “completely unqualified” in fields like law or engineering.
Pre-1990 scrutiny included a 1982 letter where O’Sullivan expressed a desire to integrate into South Africa’s “way of life,” praising it as a “good Christian” country free of communist influence. EFF leader Julius Malema criticized this, saying O’Sullivan sought to join the privileged at the expense of the exploited. O’Sullivan responded that in his 30s, he aimed to improve lives, particularly for Black South Africans. He applied for citizenship in 1994 and received it in 1995, aware of ongoing violence but not full details.
Proceedings continue on 11 February 2026, with further questioning expected.
