The South African Police Service (SAPS) members conducted a legitimate arrest operation at Katiso Molefe’s house in December last year.
This information was revealed by Captain Barry Kruger on Wednesday at the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference, and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System.
Kruger was testifying in person during Wednesday’s proceedings at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria.
The commission is chaired by retired Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga.
Kruger, who is attached to the Hawks and serves as a member of the Tactical Operations Management Section (Toms) of the Hawks, is one of the Hawks officers who arrived at the December 6 2024 Sandhurst, Johannesburg, scene when members of the SAPS were conducting an operation at the house of alleged drug cartel member Molefe.
Got a call from his superior
Police were there to arrest Molefe for the April 2024 murder of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart.
During his testimony, Kruger told the commission that on December 6, he received a call from his superior Brig Lesiba Mokoena. This was around 4pm when he was in Pretoria North.
Mokoena serves as a section head in the Toms of the Hawks.
Kruger said Mokoena instructed him to go to a physical address in Sandhurst. He said he received information that there are people there who are “conducting a police operation and they say they are from the Hawks”.
He said Mokoena instructed him to verify if the officers are from the Hawks and if the police operation is legitimate.
Kruger said he told Mokoena that he was still in Pretoria North at the time of the call. He added that he was going to arrive late in Sandhurst because his car was not fitted with blue lights. And the car tyres were not in a roadworthy condition.
“I then quickly created a WhatsApp Group and added Hawks members in it to communicate about the instruction I got. I later added Brig Mokoena and Chief Provincial Inspector George Raftopoulos of the Gauteng traffic police,” said Kruger.
Had no idea whose house it was
Kruger said he arrived at the scene of Molefe’s house at 5pm. He observed that there were no other Hawks members at the scene except for him and another Hawks colleague.
He said he found SAPS member Captain Maxwell Wanda at the scene. And after having a conversation with him, it was ascertained that the police’s arrest operation was legitimate.
Wanda was the main SAPS officer in charge of the operation to arrest Molefe.
Kruger said at the time he did not know whose house it was that police were conducting an arrest at.
His testimony was led by the commission’s evidence leader, Adv Lee Segeels-Ncube.
Last week, Witnesses A and B told the commission that the Hawks, Gauteng traffic police and Johannesburg Metro Police Department interfered with the SAPS members’ operation to arrest Molefe.
Political Killings Task Team member
Earlier, the commission heard testimony from former KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) political killings task team (PKTT) member Wanda and Mokoena.
Swart worked at Q Tech Engineering Company based in Vereeniging. He was shot and killed outside his workplace on April 17 2024.
He was killed when the alleged hitmen mistook him for another employee, who is a whistleblower.
Former SAPS detective Michael Pule Tau (55), alleged hitmen Musa Kekana (35), Tiego Floyd Mabusela (47) and Molefe (61) have been formally charged with Swart’s murder.
Tau, Kekana and Mabusela are currently in police custody, while Molefe was granted R100, 000 bail in June. He was granted bail by the Pretoria High Court after appealing the Vereeniging Magistrate’s Court decision that earlier denied him bail.
Arrested, got bail, rearrested, out on bail again
A month later, in July, Molefe was rearrested. This time for the murder of musician and club owner Oupa John Sefoka, also known as DJ Sumbody.
Molefe was granted R400, 000 bail by the Johannesburg High Court on October 10. This after appealing the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court decision that denied him bail in the DJ Sumbody case.
The commission resumes on Thursday at 9.30am. It will continue with the partially in-camera testimony of Witness C.
Witness C began his testimony last week Friday. His testimony had to be paused because he had to prepare for his academic examinations.
Witness C is a member of the KZN PKTT. He is also a certified forensic investigator specialising in fraud and corruption investigations.
He said he joined the PKTT in May 2020 and was deployed on December 2 2024 to assist the Gauteng organised crime unit with its investigations.
