The police’s organised crime unit is still searching for Lucky Molefe, the nephew of alleged drug cartel member Katiso “KT” Molefe, in relation to the April 2024 murder of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart.
This information was revealed by Witness A on Tuesday at the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into criminality, political interference, and corruption in the criminal justice system.
Tuesday’s proceedings at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria are held partially in camera.
Witness A, who is a detective of the SAPS’ organised crime unit, is testifying about his experiences as a detective investigating crimes related to the criminal cartels that form the subject of the commission’s investigations and to the attempts that have been made to interfere with these investigations.
Investigation at an advanced stage
During his testimony led by evidence leader Adv Lee Seegels-Ncube, Witness A said around December last year, the investigation into Swart’s murder was at an advanced stage.
This witness, who is part of the team investigating the engineer’s murder, said the team was ready to arrest the fourth and fifth suspects in relation to Swart’s murder.
The said suspects, he said, were Molefe and Lucky, respectively.
Witness A said on December 5, the police went to different courts to obtain warrants of arrest for both suspects.
He said two arrest operations took place on December 6. One police operation was to arrest Molefe at his Sandhurst, Sandton, house, while the other operation was to arrest Lucky at the location he was suspected to be at.
“The operation to arrest Lucky took off, but it did not proceed because he [Lucky] was not found where he was supposed to be. We could not arrest him. We are still looking for him to this day,” said Witness A.
Cold murder in April
Swart, who worked at Q Tech Engineering Company based in Vereeniging, was shot and killed outside his workplace in Vereeniging on April 17 2024.
This is after the alleged hitmen mistook him for another employee who is a whistleblower.
Former SAPS detective Michael Pule Tau (55) and alleged hitmen Musa Kekana (35) and Tiego Floyd Mabusela (47) were arrested in April last year for Swart’s murder.
Molefe (61) was arrested and charged with the murder of Swart in December last year.
Tau, Kekana and Mabusela remain in police custody after not bringing a bail application.
Molefe was granted R100 000 bail in June on appeal by the Pretoria High Court. He was additionally recently granted R400 000 bail for the alleged murder of DJ Sumbody (Oupa Sefoka).
Witness A added that police investigations revealed that Lucky is an employee at Transnet and works there as a buyer for Transnet.
He said Q Tech Engineering Company was given a Transnet tender.
Witness A is testifying off camera from a remote location, but his voice is audible for the public to hear. His name and face are not disclosed during proceedings.
The commission’s chairperson, retired Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, ruled that the commission’s hearings from Monday to Wednesday will hear testimony from Witnesses A, B and C in partially in-camera hearings.
The commission continues.
