The assassination of former ANC Youth League secretary-general Sindiso Magaqa was carried out using state-owned weapons. One of the hitmen was a registered police informer on the crime intelligence payroll.
Sunday World can today exclusively reveal that an undercover operative, who says he initially recruited Magaqa’s would-be hitman to be an informer, has penned an explosive affidavit to police minister Senzo Mchunu exposing how the then 35-year-old politician was ambushed and shot on July 13, 2017, with resources from crime intelligence.
The operative, whose identity is protected, is under witness protection due to his knowledge of Magaqa’s assassination.
Magaqa succumbed to gunshot wounds in September 2017 at Albert Luthuli Hospital.
The contents of the affidavit, which Sunday World has seen, revealed that Magaqa was shot with an AK-47 purchased with money from the slush fund of the crime intelligence, a division of the SAPS. Cash from the same slush fund also funded the purchase of the getaway vehicle, a Mercedes Benz.
The operative named Jabulani Sgora Mdunge and Sibusiso Malusi Ncengwa as the men who shot Magaqa and two other Umzimkhulu councillors, Jabu Mzizi-Msiya and Ntsiki Mafa, who survived. Magaqa was also an ANC councillor in Umzimkhulu at the time.
Five senior police officers confirmed the operative’s information and claimed there was a cover-up involving high-ranking police officials. One officer, the hitman’s commander, resigned after being recommended for investigation following
findings by the Inspector General of Intelligence.
The operative said he registered Mdunge as a police informer on May 10, 2017, after recruiting him. He then handed the hitman to his superior—the one who later resigned. The operative said he has been part of the Multi-Dimensions Organised Crime, a deep undercover unit, since 2013.
He stated that his duties involved identifying crime syndicates, infiltrating them and recruiting informers.
He recruited Mdunge, a gang leader, as an informer. In 2017, their unit launched a project called “Project Blow Out,” which was later misused to target ANC councillors, including Magaqa.
“This project blowout is the very same project that killed ANCYL secretary general Sindiso Magaqa. Magaqa was shot and killed by the very same informer, Mdunge, and his friend, Ncengwa.
“I will be testifying in court, telling the court about this project above and how the crime intelligence unit got involved in the killing of Magaqa and other ANC councillors.”
The operative accused his superiors of using the crime intelligence unit as a “Third Force” by purchasing stolen cars and unlicensed firearms with the secret service account, supplying them to criminals to target ANC councillors, and later eliminating the informants to cover up evidence.
He detailed how the car and guns used in Magaqa’s killing were bought with crime intelligence money. After he handed Mdunge over to his bosses, they bought him two stolen cars, including the silver Mercedes Benz used in Magaqa’s murder.
“I was present when it was bought, and the money was deposited in Mr Jabulani Mdunge’s FNB account. They also bought him an AK-47, and they asked me to accompany Mdunge to Msinga to fetch the AK-47, and indeed we went and bought it. They also bought him ammunition, and I was also present when all this was happening,” he explained.
Problems began on July 2, 2017, when Mdunge informed them he and Ncengwa were hired to kill Magaqa, who was threatening to expose senior officials from Umzimkhulu municipality. The operative claims he opposed the assassination but his bosses dismissed his concerns.
“I then told them that should this case happen, should these guys, our informer and his friend, go and kill Magaqa, and when the case backfires, I will not cover them up, but I will tell the truth because I’m not in the business of killing ANC councillors like they do.”
On July 13, 2017, Mdunge and Ncengwa executed the hit on Magaqa using the AK-47 and Mercedes Benz. They received R120,000 cash that day. When Magaqa’s murder risked exposure, a hit was organised on Mdunge, resulting in his death. Fortunately, Ncengwa wasn’t in the same car with him.
Ncengwa was later arrested for plotting a cash-in-transit heist and sentenced to 95 years by the Pietermaritzburg High Court in March 2022.
The operative faced victimisation and survived several assassination attempts. In January 2019, he was framed with a false charge to have him jailed and murdered inside. However, the court dismissed the case due to lack of evidence.
A senior official from the National Prosecuting Authority discovered plans to assassinate the operative and placed him under witness protection as he’s a crucial witness in the Magaqa case.
The operative reported the matter to the national head office and the Inspector General of Intelligence (IG) in 2021. Though an investigation was conducted, he claims a cover-up persists.
Current (IG) Imtiaz Fazel confirmed an investigation into misuse of funds and unlawful activities. A report was submitted to former police minister Bheki Cele and the joint standing committee on intelligence in 2023, but insiders claim no further action was taken.
