Former national police commissioner Riah Phiyega allegedly bypassed one of her most senior deputies and handed the investigation into Mpumalanga’s notorious political killings to a junior officer after initially instructing him to handle the cases.
The explosive allegation emerged on Thursday during testimony before the Madlanga commission, where retired Hawks head Lieutenant-General Dr Godfrey Lebeya claimed he was effectively sidelined from investigations that fell squarely within his area of responsibility.
Lebeya said the events unfolded in 2012 when he served as Deputy National Commissioner responsible for Detective Service and Forensic Service.
Contradictory instructions
According to Lebeya, Phiyega personally instructed him, in the presence of then police minister Nathi Mthethwa, to oversee the investigation into political assassinations that had rocked Mpumalanga.
“During 2012, I was tasked by Gen Phiyega in the presence of the Minister of Police to deal with the cases of political killings in Mpumalanga,” he told the commission.
However, when he approached the provincial head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) in Mpumalanga to obtain copies of the case files, he was told another senior officer had already requested them.
“When I asked for copies of these cases from the provincial head of the DPCI in Mpumalanga, he advised me that the divisional commissioner had asked for the copies already,” Lebeya testified.
Seeking clarity, he approached the divisional commissioner directly.
“When I checked with the divisional commissioner of detective service, he told me that he had been tasked by the national commissioner.”
Allegation of political interference
Lebeya interpreted the apparent contradiction as more than a breakdown in communication.
He told the commission that the move suggested he had been deliberately excluded from a matter that should have fallen under his command.
“It was a divisional commissioner who reports to me who was tasked by the national commissioner, signalling that she was politically instructed not to task me on matters resorting under my responsibility,” he said.
When commissioners asked him to identify the officer concerned, Lebeya named Major-General Bailey Segomotso Mmono, who at the time reported to him.
Mmono, however, can no longer respond to the allegations. The retired police officer died on July 4 this year at the age of 64.
Mthethwa, whom Lebeya said was present when Phiyega initially assigned him the investigation, also cannot provide evidence. The former police minister died in September 2025 after falling from a hotel in Paris.
Their deaths leave Phiyega as a key surviving figure who could potentially explain the apparent shift in instructions.
Shadow of the January murders
The allegations revive long-standing questions surrounding Mpumalanga’s infamous “January Murders”, a series of assassinations involving politicians, government officials and alleged whistleblowers between 2009 and 2011.
Among the highest-profile victims were Mbombela Local Municipality speaker Jimmy Mohlala, provincial culture, sport and recreation communications chief Sammy Mpatlanyane and Ehlanzeni District Municipality ANC chief whip Johan Ndlovu.
Mohlala was shot dead at his KaNyamazane home on January 4, 2009 after becoming associated with allegations of corruption linked to the construction of Mbombela Stadium ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Mpatlanyane was murdered a year later, on January 8, 2010, at his Stonehenge home in Mbombela, while Ndlovu was assassinated on January 5, 2011.
The killings fuelled allegations of political hit squads, tender-related violence and efforts to obstruct police investigations.
Investigations mired in controversy
The seriousness of the murders prompted then national police commissioner Bheki Cele to establish a specialised task team consisting of experienced detectives drawn from several provinces.
Yet the investigations themselves later became controversial.
In the Mpatlanyane case, foreign nationals were arrested and publicly presented as suspects before questions emerged about the integrity of the investigation. Allegations surfaced that relatives of the slain official had been tortured, while concerns were raised about the handling of evidence and the crime scene.
Over the years, suspicions of political interference have persisted despite multiple investigations.
Fresh allegations rekindle debate
The controversy has gained renewed attention following claims made earlier this year by former Mpumalanga provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Daphney Semakaleng Manamela.
During an April media briefing, Manamela alleged that a police major-general had confessed that he and current National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola received R5 million from a businessman to prevent her return to work because reopening Mohlala’s murder docket could expose sensitive information.
SAPS national spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the allegations would be thoroughly investigated.
Mathe stressed that claims of misconduct, wrongdoing and political or criminal interference could not be ignored, regardless of the rank or status of those implicated.
Manamela, who remains embroiled in her own disciplinary and misconduct disputes, also accused former police minister Bheki Cele of attempting to interfere in sensitive investigations in the province.
Questions that refuse to die
More than 15 years after the first assassination, the murders continue to cast a long shadow over Mpumalanga policing and politics.
Lebeya’s testimony has once again focused attention on whether political considerations influenced investigations into some of the province’s most notorious killings.
While several of the key individuals linked to the original events are no longer alive, the questions surrounding the January Murders remain unresolved.
For families of the victims and for those seeking accountability, the passage of time has not diminished the demand for answers.
The shootings may have ended years ago, but the controversy surrounding how they were investigated continues to reverberate through South Africa’s criminal justice system.
- Former national police commissioner Riah Phiyega allegedly bypassed one of her most senior deputies and handed the investigation into Mpumalanga’s notorious political killings to a junior officer after initially instructing him to handle the cases.
- The explosive allegation emerged on Thursday during testimony before the Madlanga commission, where retired Hawks head Lieutenant-General Dr Godfrey Lebeya claimed he was effectively sidelined from investigations that fell squarely within his area of responsibility.
- Lebeya said the events unfolded in 2012 when he served as Deputy National Commissioner responsible for Detective Service and Forensic Service.
- Contradictory instructions According to Lebeya, Phiyega personally instructed him, in the presence of then police minister Nathi Mthethwa, to oversee the investigation into political assassinations that had rocked Mpumalanga.
- “During 2012, I was tasked by Gen Phiyega in the presence of the Minister of Police to deal with the cases of political killings in Mpumalanga,” he told the commission.
