By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, which is investigating corruption, political interference, and criminality within the criminal justice system, has been probing what now appears to be a botched drug trafficking operation involving police officials who colluded with a cartel to smuggle drugs into the country.
It heard that among the suspected police officials involved were Gauteng Traffic Chief Samuel Mashaba, CIMAC commander, Marumo Magane and K-9 unit officer, Steve Phakula.
The trio were acting on information received from the police informant Tumelo Nku, who is said to have monitored the operation from a distance near the scene.
Mashaba had requested to testify partly in camera, citing health concerns, but the application was dismissed by the commission.
“It sounds to us that you can speak and you speak well based on what we heard during your application. For those brief reasons, we refuse your application,” said the commission’s chairperson, Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga.
Thursday’s proceedings focused on Mashaba’s connection to Nku, the man who alerted him to the shipment a day before the bust.
Mashaba confirmed he received information about a truck carrying drugs the night before it arrived in Johannesburg, but could not explain why he did not mobilise his team, which would have stopped the truck at the Heidelberg weighbridge.
Inside the truck, there was 715.86 kilograms of cocaine concealed within legitimate cargo that had arrived via Durban Harbour.
The drugs were estimated to be worth 200 million.
At least 136.46 kilograms of the drugs later went missing from the forensic laboratory of the South African Police Service (Saps), in what is believed to be an inside job.
Mashaba said he did not report to the SAPS the narcotics tip-off as per the requirements. He had earlier said that anything related to narcotics must be reported to the nearest police station.
However, this did not happen as he admitted that despite being a traffic officer, he went into Yellow Jersey Logistics premises and then the Scania premises, searched the truck, and the drugs fell from the truck.
This was the same scene where he and other law-enforcement officers, including Nku, were arrested by the Hawks for dealing in drugs.
Madlanga, asked Mashaba why he did not report the discovery of narcotics to the police as per the prescripts.
Mashaba first claimed that he had reported the discover but then said, “I did not report; I requested manpower in the morning.”
Madlanga said, “My understanding is that asking for manpower to then engage in an operation like you did is not the same as reporting to SAPS. So, your answer is ‘you did not report’. And this is something that you ought to have reported, not so?”
To which he said, “On this one chair, I was cautioned; hence I did not report directly to SAPS.”
WhatsApp exchanges between Mashaba and Nku, dating back to 2019, were presented at the commission.
The messages show that Nku would often send Mashaba money, which he would use to pay people he referred to as his “boys”.
Mashaba said he cannot recall the exact nature of their dealings, but acknowledged that Nku often assisted him financially.
The commission also presented a message in which Mashaba told Nku that they needed to “get back to work” because his “responsibilities are piling up”, something he claimed he could not remember.
Mashaba repeatedly told the commission that 2019 was a long time ago and that he struggled to recall many of the events from the period.
Records before the commission also indicate that Mashaba asked Nku for R20,000 in March that year, around the time they first met.
Mashaba said he requested the money from Nku so that he could “look after” the MEC Faith Mazibuko, who was appointed Gauteng MEC for Community Safety in May 2019. A portfolio that oversaw traffic and law enforcement.
I want us to look after Faith [Mazibuko], she is now my Mec.
The evidence leader Adv Advocate Segeels-Ncube questioned Chief Samuel Mashaba on the “Let us work so we can look after Faith Mazibuko” message he sent to Nku.
Mashaba could not answer.
The commission further examined messages in which Nku referred to his “bosses” while discussing a drug-trafficking and money-laundering enquiry with Mashaba.
Mashaba insisted he did not know who these “bosses” were and said he could not remember details of the enquiry.
Co-commissioner Sisi Baloyi was surprised that Mashaba was unable to answer most of the questions relating to the messages, as he claimed to have forgotten.
“At that time it means I knew, but I can’t recall.”
“You just won’t recall for us. You won’t! You don’t want to. There is a big difference between you not wanting to tell us what this is about and you genuinely not recalling.”
The traffic chief also used the opportunity to clarify aspects of the Aeroton operation that he said were omitted from his earlier testimony.
He told the commission that officers from Booysens SAPS attended the scene and cleared the operation of any wrongdoing.
Mashaba further testified that after suspended deputy Crime Intelligence head, Major-General Feroz Khan, arrived at the scene and confronted the team, he sought assistance from Generals Elias Mawela and Tommy Mthombeni, as well as Brigadier Richard Shibiri, but was told they were occupied with other matters.
He maintains that Khan ordered that he, Magane, Phakula and Nku be removed from the operation and arrested. Mashaba will be back at the commission tomorrow for cross-examination.