A witness at the Madlanga commission has described how alleged law enforcement “fixers” tried to interfere with the arrest of businessman and suspected “Big Five” cartel member Katiso “KT” Molefe.
Witness B on Thursday concluded giving evidence before the commission, which is currently holding public hearings at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria.
The commission is investigating criminality, political interference, and corruption within South Africa’s criminal justice system.
Armand Swart’s murder
Witness B has testified about the sequence of events that led to the assassination of engineer Armand Swart, who was killed on 17 April 2024 in a case of mistaken identity.
The police officer, who serves as the lead investigator, revealed that a plan to kill a whistle-blower started after Q Tech, Swart’s employer, discovered irregularities in a Transnet tender given to SK Group.
Investigations uncovered that SK Group had sold metal springs to the state-owned enterprise at inflated prices.
It was also discovered that Lucky Molefe, an employee at Transnet Freight Rail and nephew of Katiso, allegedly pushed for the tender to be awarded to SK Group.
ALSO READ: Katiso ‘KT’ Molefe case to ‘disappear’, bribes and tender scandal dominates Madlanga commission
After Transnet paid SK Group, the money was transferred to an account owned by Katiso’s son, Thapelo Molefe.
Lucky was subsequently asked to submit all tender-related documents by 12 April.
Instead, he allegedly enlisted his uncle’s help — and five days later, Swart was killed.
The murder led to the arrests of Katiso, former police detective Michael Pule Tau, and alleged hitmen Musa Kekana and Tiego Floyd Mabusela.
Tau, Kekana and Mabusela were arrested on the day of the killing, while Katiso was taken into custody in December 2024.
Police’s plan to arrest Katiso Molefe and his nephew
On Thursday, Witness B testified that the involvement of the political killings task team (PKTT) accelerated the investigation into Swart’s murder, as her team benefited from the task team’s specialised expertise.
She noted that Witness C, who will testify next, is a PKTT detective who provided crucial assistance.
Witness B stated that police intended to arrest Katiso and Lucky Molefe at the same time on 6 December 2024.
READ MORE: Madlanga commission told KT Molefe and ‘Cat’ Matlala allegedly part of ‘Big 5’ cartel
She said her team had secured the arrest warrants the previous day but still needed to obtain search and seizure warrants from other courts before carrying out the operation.
“We had to split because the jurisdictions were different.
“Witness A had to go to Randburg to obtain such a warrant,” Witness B said, adding that she went to the Johannesburg Central and Roodepoort magistrate’s courts to secure the necessary warrants.
While she obtained the warrants, Witness A failed to secure a warrant to search Katiso’s Sandhurst home.
Witness A previously told the commission that Katiso consented to having his house searched upon arrest.
Alleged interference during Katiso Molefe’s arrest
Witness B revealed that upon arriving at Transnet, her team learned that Lucky — who remains on the run — was not at work.
“We had to withdraw from that operation to join the other operation at Katiso’s house.”
At Katiso’s residence, she said, the team encountered significant interference.
Members of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) — known as the Hawks — arrived and demanded to be briefed, while a helicopter hovered overhead.
According to Witness B, the Hawks officers were allegedly acting on the instructions of former national Hawks head Godfrey Lebeya.
“Among the things that the DPCI explained why they came is because they got reports that there were people pretending to be the Hawks at Katiso’s house, so they were there to verify that,” they said.
Witness B further testified that a Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) officer, Johannes “Johnny” Mokgatle, was also at the scene.
READ MORE: Armand Swart murder: investigator details how they allegedly linked Katiso Molefe to case
Later, when she visited his workplace to determine why he was there, she discovered that Mokgatle had been booked off sick that day.
“He was supposed to go home and rest, but we found him at the crime scene, fully operating and confronting officers that were at work.”
The witness said Mokgatle later claimed in a statement that he was called to the scene by Katiso.
“He said he was on duty and also he was called by Katiso because they were suspicious, so he had to come and check on them.”
Mokgatle reportedly explained that he knew Katiso because he had registered vehicles for him.
“He makes it looks like there’s nothing wrong about him leaving his post when he was supposed to go home.”
‘A general’s person’
Witness B said she found it “really amazing” that multiple law enforcement agencies appeared to want to interfere with Katiso’s arrest, suggesting he had significant influence.
She described him as “a general’s person”.
“It can only be a powerful person who can be able to pull up such. It makes me wonder [what would have happened] if the PKTT was never part of this operation on that day, it was just myself and Witness A, what would have happened to us?”
Katiso is currently out on bail of R100 000 and R400 000 in two separate murder cases, one of which involves Swart’s death.
NOW READ: EFF demands that witnesses be protected after the court frees Katiso ‘KT’ Molefe on bail
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