Midrand Police Station police officer Detective Sergeant Mokgesseng Jeffrey Moleko, who is accused of murdering his ex-partner and her Catholic priest, was granted R10, 000 bail by the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
Magistrate Hleziphi Mkhasibe said the state did not present any evidence that Moleko, 47, will evade trial and intimidate state witnesses if granted bail.
She said Moleko has already handed his passport to the investigating officer and cannot evade trial.
Mkhasibe said the state presented a strong case against Moleko during his bail application. But she said a bail application is an inquiry and not a trial.
Exceptional circumstances
She said there are exceptional circumstances that warrant Moleko’s release on bail. Those exceptional circumstances are that his two minor children, ages 15 and 12, need him.
Moleko was granted R10, 000 bail with strict bail conditions.
Moleko is charged together with his colleague Diana Mashabela, 44. They face two counts of murder and one count of unlicensed possession of ammunition. The charges are in connection with the murders of Moleko’s ex-partner, Phumla Dladla, 45, and her Catholic priest father, Paul Tatu.
Moleko is alleged to have shot and killed Dladla at her home at the Sagewood Manor complex in Noordwyk, Midrand. He allegedly committed the murder with his state-issued firearm on April 27 2024.
Moleko allegedly shot Tatu with the same gun near the Samrand offramp on the N1 highway on the same day. He was arrested on July 18 2025.
Colleague also charged
Police allege that Mashabela, a clerk at Midrand Police Station, aided her colleague Moleko to commit the two murders.
Mashabela was granted R5, 000 bail on Monday by the Randburg Magistrate’s Court.
State prosecutor Yusuf Baba said Mashabela will be used as a state witness during the trial.
Regarding his bail conditions, the court ordered Moleko not to contact the state witnesses, directly or indirectly.
Moleko was ordered to report to Midrand Police Station on Mondays and Fridays between 7am and 7pm.
He was ordered to give Dladla’s family access to see his two children during weekends and during school holidays.
Moleko was ordered not to influence his children against Dladla’s family.
The children currently live with Moleko’s girlfriend in Noordwyk.
Strict bail conditions
Failure to obey these orders, Moleko’s bail will be revoked. He will be arrested and taken into police custody, the court said to Moleko.
Mkhasibe postponed the matter to September 4 for the Director of Public Prosecutions to determine the appropriate forum for the trial. That is whether the trial will sit at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court or Johannesburg High Court.
State prosecutor Yusuf Baba said the state is ready for trial.
Meanwhile, investigating officer Lt-Col Andile Makhaya previously said the four cartridges that were found at the crime scene of Dladla’s murder were tested against cartridges from Moleko’s state-issued firearm, and the results came back positive.
State-issued gun used in murders
He said this was a confirmation that Moleko’s state-issued firearm is the murder weapon that killed Dladla.
Makhaya previously revealed that Moleko and Dladla lived together at the Sagewood Manor complex from 2010. Moleko moved out in October 2019.
Makhaya said Moleko and Dladla have two children together, ages 15 (boy) and 12 (girl).
During the start of his bail application in July, Moleko, through his lawyer Adv Deon Pool, stated his health issues. He said he takes daily medication for blood pressure and depression, which are chronic. Moleko said he can afford R5, 000 bail.
