By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Witness B told the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry that the plot to eliminate a whistleblower began after the company where Armand Swart worked, Q Tech, flagged irregularities in a tender awarded to the company SK group.
This contract involved supplies to Transnet at inflated prices and was never publicly advertised.
A whistleblower reported the irregularities to the Department of Public Enterprises, prompting a request for documentation from Lucky Molefe, Katiso KT Molefe’s nephew, who delayed compliance.
An employee of Q-Tech noted that SK Group appeared to have been awarded a tender unlawfully and sold accessories to Transnet at significantly inflated prices.
The commission is hearing evidence into alleged criminality, political interference and corruption within law enforcement, following explosive claims by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
On Monday, commission chair Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga ruled that witnesses A, B and C, all members of the Gauteng Organised Crime Unit probing criminal cartels in Gauteng, would testify remotely. Their voices will be broadcast live, but their identities will remain concealed for safety reasons.
On the day of Swart’s killing, police arrested warrant officer Pule Tau, along with the other alleged hitmen, Musa Kekana and Floyd Mabusela, for murder. Katiso Molefe was arrested in December 2024.
Witness B told the commission that since Tau’s arrest, the investigating team faced ongoing intimidation and interference. She said one of Tau’s associates, who often lingered near the team during court appearances, was tasked with targeting investigators.
She also claimed an informant approached one officer, attempting to bribe them to drop the case and warning that their lives were in danger if they refused.
She said a day after these threats, Tau was released on bail, prompting the team to bolster security, including hiring a private security company for protection.
Witness B further alleged that Major General Richard Shibiri warned her the case involved highly dangerous individuals working with police insiders and that three brown envelopes had been prepared as bribes for the magistrate, prosecutor, and investigating officer.
She also recalled noticing individuals outside the courthouse after Tau’s first appearance, whom she suspected were following her.
“We stopped at a garage not far in the town to de-brief and then proceeded back on the road and we noticed that we were still being followed, of which it was even noted that they tried to drive us off the road. Amongst the cars which were following us, at a later stage we got to know that it was linked to Tau because while doing our investigations we found it parked at his residence,” she added.
The witness said court officials informed her that photographs of her were being taken during the proceedings.
Among the hurdles faced, she said, was the issue of deleted ballistic reports. She was shocked that Captain Magotle of the SAPS ballistics lab in Pretoria opened a kidnapping case against the investigators after directing them to obtain the original ballistic reports, which had been amended.
“I found it strange that they think there was a kidnapping. How can we kidnap somebody at the police station where all the help is there to prevent it. Further, we were going to his office which he was directing us to. Also there is security at the gate so we can’t just gain access without his help. He was the one who talked to the security to assure them that there is nothing wrong and that we can gain entry, “she added.
Phone records indicated frequent communication between Tau and murder-accused Molefe in the days leading up to Swart’s assassination. Witness B explained how law enforcement linked Molefe to the 2024 murder of the Vereeniging engineer.
She also noted that they observed Tau, who had frequent communication with Molefe, scouting Q-Tech’s location just days before Swart’s assassination on April 17, 2024.
The Commission established that Swart was a victim of mistaken identity, and the intended target was another Q-Tech employee, whose identity remains protected.
Lucky Molefe, who Witness B said played a crucial role in the killing, remains at large.
Asked by Commissioner Sandile Khumalo why Molefe might have ordered the hit, Witness B said it was because he had so much to lose regarding the SK Group tender and Transnet’s request for documents.
The document sought was going to reveal two dormant companies Lucky Molefe said were in competition with SK Group actually are non-existent. The investigation has revealed that when the money was paid to SK Group, what happened was that the whole money was transferred to Thapelo’s, Katiso Molefe’s son account,” she said.