This week the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry heard testimony about the December 2024 arrest of alleged drug cartel member Katiso “KT” Molefe and the infamous 121 case dockets of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) political killings task team, PKTT.
On Tuesday, the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference, and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System taking place in Pretoria, heard testimony from three Hawks members in connection with the arrest of Molefe at his Sandhurst, Johannesburg house on December 6 2024.
Gauteng provincial Hawks head Maj-Gen Ebrahim Ahmed Kadwa said that the Hawks members did not interfere with the execution of Molefe’s arrest.
Kadwa said on the day, while he was on his way to Hawks national excellence awards taking place in Pretoria, he received a call from then Hawks head Lt-Gen Godfrey Lebeya.
“General Lebeya asked me if I am aware of a Hawks operation in Sandhurst. I told him I am not aware of such an operation. General Lebeya told me there are people who are allegedly impersonating Hawks members at a Sandton address and he asked me to verify if that is true.
“General Lebeya sent me the address. I called a Colonel from the Johannesburg Hawks office to go and check if there is a Hawks operation there. The Hawks members who arrived at the address were there for about 10 minutes,” said Kadwa.
“The allegations that Hawks members went there to interfere with police work is not true. They went there to verify if indeed there are any Hawks officers at the scene,” said Kadwa.
In response, Kadwa he did not ask Lebeya where he got the information regarding the alleged impersonation.
Two more witnesses
The commission also heard testimony from Hawks members Captain Dail Christaan Nortjie and Warrant Officer Paul Makhere Radebe, who both are from the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation (SOCI) unit.
Radebe said that controversial Gauteng businessman Malcolm X was at the scene when Molefe was arrested on December 6 2024.
Radebe said Malcolm X was at the scene wearing a cap, spectacles and carrying a bag pack. He said Malcolm X was taking videos of the Hawks officers who arrived at Molefe’s house around 5:14pm.
Mchunu name-drops Â
Meanwhile, on Friday SAPS acting deputy national commissioner of police for crime detection Lt-Gen Hilda Senthumule said police minister Senzo Mchunu told them President Cyril Ramaphosa agreed with his decision to disband the KZN political killings task team.
Senthumule said there was a meeting that took place in Cape Town on March 27 which comprised of herself, Mchunu, national commissioner of police Gen Fannie Masemola, suspended deputy national commissioner of police for crime detection Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya, SAPS national head of crime intelligence Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo, and deputy national commissioner of police for policing Lt-Gen Tebello Mosikili, among others.
Senthumule said the case dockets of the PKTT and its disbandment were discussed and Mchunu reiterated his view that the task team must be disbanded immediately. Sibiya supported Mchunu’s view of the disbandment.
Mchunu, who is currently on special leave, sent a letter on December 31 2024 to Masemola instructing that the political killings task team be disbanded immediately.
“During the meeting, the minister said the president agreed that the political killings task team must be disbanded. The minister then said he is no longer going to speak to us [about the matter].
“He said he is only going to speak to the national commissioner going forward regarding the disbandment. General Khumalo and I were upset when the minister said that,” said Senthumule.
Senthumule’s testimony corroborates what Masemola and Khumalo said when they were testifying before the commission in September about Mchunu saying Ramaphosa is in agreement with the disbandment of the political killings task team.
Sibiya’s name crops up againÂ
In April, 121 case dockets of the political killings task team were removed from KZN and taken to Sibiya’s SAPS head office in Pretoria as per Sibiya’s instruction without the knowledge of KZN police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
The 121 case dockets were returned to KZN in August.
Meanwhile, after being scheduled to testify on Wednesday morning, KZN Hawks head Maj-Gen Lesetja Senona, who is linked to alleged drug cartel member Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, will be testifying at the Commission on January 27 2026.
Senona has been directed by the commission to furnish his sworn written statement by January 16 2026.
The commission, which is sitting at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria, will resume its proceedings on Monday at 9:30am with a new witness expected to take the stand.
The commission’s chief evidence leader Adv Matthew Chaskalson SC said suspended Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) deputy chief of police Brig Julius Mkhwanazi will be testifying next week along with other EMPD witnesses.
