Before the murder of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart, the suspects had been surveilling his workplace for several days using a Mercedes-Benz Viano that was captured on CCTV footage multiple times.

According to Witness A, an investigator who was part of the team probing the case, the vehicle was linked to police detective Michael Pule Tau, one of the suspects later arrested. 

Tau had also been in communication with Katiso “KT” Molefe, who is accused of murdering Pretoria club owner Oupa “DJ Sumbody” Sefoka, in the days before Swart’s killing.

Swart, an employee of Q Tech Engineering Company in Vereeniging, was shot and killed on 17 April 2024 while seated in his vehicle outside his workplace. Two suspects driving a white Hyundai i20 opened fire, killing him instantly. He sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was declared dead on the scene.

Witness A is currently testifying in the Madlanga Commission partially in camera. According to Witness A, on the day of the murder, police arrested Tau, Musa Kekana, and Tlego Floyd Mabusela.

The witness told the commission that during a meeting at Major-General Richard Shibiri’s Pretoria office, Shibiri warned them that the case was sensitive and that the suspects were connected to “very dangerous people,” including the late taxi owner Jothan “King Mswazi” Msibi.

Shibiri also cautioned that as the suspects prepared to apply for bail, “three envelopes” allegedly intended for the investigating officers, the magistrate, and the prosecutor were “on offer.”

“I understood him to be referring to money,” Witness A said, adding that his first reaction was shock.

The commission continues.