By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Major-General Lesetja Senona, Head of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Hawks, has expressed concerns for his personal safety following an incident where he was escorted from his office and had his electronic devices confiscated by KZN SAPS officers, subsequently being followed to his residence on Saturday.
This comes after Senona’s appearance at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry last week.
Senona faced claims that he supported alleged kingpin Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala in pursuing litigation against the SAPS after the termination of his R360-million Medicare24 contract with the police service. The commission also heard that he shared a news article suggesting that KZN police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi was not applying for the position of Hawks head.
On Tuesday, Senona was grilled over a meeting he allegedly arranged and attended with Matlala and Mkhwanazi on 15 April 2025.
Senona was also grilled on the Nangy docket, which stems from a News24 article that cited a confidential police report linking a consultant who apparently helped secure the release of a kidnap victim to the alleged kidnapping kingpin, Nangy.
However, the affidavit and its annexures were not embedded in the article, a point the commission grappled with as it pressed Senona on why he sent the SAPS docket on the matter to Matlala, an alleged criminal implicated in serious offences.
The commission heard that after a meeting with Matlala at the Menlyn Maine Hotel in Pretoria on 5 March 2025, Senona sent the SAPS docket to Matlala later that evening.
His explanation for sending the docket to Matlala was widely criticised. Senona claimed that after reading Nangy’s affidavit, he noted that he was living in the same complex as Matlala and sent the docket to “sensitise” him to the fact that there was an individual of that nature residing there.
The Commission has already referred Senona for further investigation in its interim report handed to the president, alongside several other senior police officials.
As a result, the Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia recommended placing the implicated officers on precautionary suspension.
SAPS is yet to issue a formal statement clarifying the authority under which Senona was removed from office or whether he has been placed on precautionary suspension.
Senona’s legal representatives have formally contacted the acting Hawks Head, General Nkosi, seeking clarification on these events and emphasizing that their client did not receive a formal suspension.