Madlanga Commission: Sibiya’s subordinate visited Molefe before police raid

The head of Crime Intelligence, Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo, told the Madlanga Commission that a subordinate of suspended deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya visited the home of alleged organised crime figure Katiso “KT” Molefe days before a police operation at the property.

Khumalo said Sergeant F.E. Nkosi, who works under Sibiya, was captured on CCTV footage arriving at Molefe’s Vosloorus home on 27 November 2024 at about 16:31. Nkosi, who arrived empty-handed, was seen leaving a few minutes later carrying a white paper bag.

According to Khumalo, the BMW Nkosi used was registered to the South African Police Service, but investigators later found that the car’s tracking device was not active. “It was either not installed or had been removed at some point,” he said.

Khumalo said the same vehicle was later seen at Sibiya’s Pretoria house during a search and seizure operation by the Political Killings Task Team. Investigators, he added, had linked Nkosi, Sibiya and Molefe to a network allegedly associated with the so-called “Big Five” cartel.

The commission previously heard that Nkosi allegedly moved cash between Molefe’s associate, Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala, and Sibiya.

Khumalo also testified that Sibiya used a Toyota double-cab bakkie belonging to a convicted criminal, Scharnick Stuart James, during a raid at his home. James has faced 34 criminal cases, 18 resulting in convictions, 11 withdrawn and five not guilty findings.

“There are questions around how someone with multiple convictions was available to assist and how he served his sentences. That is part of an ongoing investigation,” he said.

On the issue of interference during a December 2024 operation at Molefe’s home, Khumalo said the Hawks’ involvement amounted to obstruction of justice.

He told the commission that investigators identified Molefe’s associate, Mthethwa, as the person who called the Hawks during the takedown operation linked to the murder of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart.

“On the day of the operation, we could not identify the caller. But as the investigation progressed, we confirmed that Mr Mthethwa was the one who activated the call,” he said.

“In my view, this was obstruction of justice by DPCI officers, a JMPD officer, and certain members within detective services,” Khumalo added.

Khumalo also said Molefe had been warned about the operation by Johannesburg Metro Police officer Johannes Mokgatle, who accessed vehicle information near Molefe’s home using police systems. Mokgatle later confirmed this in an affidavit.

He added that during operations involving both Molefe and Matlala, drippedPolice Minister Senzo Mchunu’s name to discourage officers from proceeding.

“At Molefe’s house, one person mentioned that he was close to the minister. Later, during the operation at Matlala’s home, Matlala said officers were disrupting his diary because he was due to meet the minister,” Khumalo said.

He said the interference was not unexpected, as earlier intelligence reports had already linked some Hawks members to individuals under investigation.

“It was not a surprise when Hawks members arrived at Molefe’s house. We already had information connecting the suspects to officers from that section,” said Khumalo.