The Madlanga Commission began its first sitting in Pretoria on Wednesday, where evidence leader Adv Terry Motau SC outlined a timeline of events that will frame the inquiry into alleged political interference and criminal infiltration of the police.
Motau traced the origins of the political task team back to July 2018, when SAPS formed an ad hoc interdisciplinary unit to investigate political killings in KwaZulu-Natal, later extending its focus nationally.
In June 2019, the unit adopted an integrated model after the KwaZulu-Natal director of public prosecutions assigned a dedicated team of prosecutors, creating a multidisciplinary approach that combined policing with prosecutorial oversight.
He also described the assassination of engineer Armand Swart on April 17 2024 as a critical turning point. Swart died under a hail of bullets in an alleged mistaken identity.
“This high-profile assassination served as a catalyst for a wider investigation that would reveal far-reaching connections in the criminal underworld and insidious, serious infiltration of law enforcement by criminal syndicates,” Motau said.
Three suspects, including Michael Pule Tau, were arrested on the same day, with firearms seized later linked to Swart’s killing.
The timeline noted further escalation in August 2024 after Tau was granted bail.
That same month, Katiso “KT” Molefe was identified as a person of interest in the matter. On December 6, task team members arrested Molefe and also searched the home of alleged crime boss Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
“Part of what we dealt with in the evidence is alleged political interference, which was noted by JMPD (Johannesburg metro police department) and DPCI (the Hawks) during the said operation – and again I must emphasise that these are allegations,” Motau explained.
A ballistic report on December 30, linked weapons seized in Swart’s case to four other murders, including those of DJ Sumbody as well as the attempted murder of actress and socialite Tebogo Thobejane. The following day, police minister Senzo Mchunu issued a directive disbanding the task team, Motau further explained.
On January 27, Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi publicly alleged political interference and criminal infiltration in SAPS during an EWN interview.
Motau said Mkhwanazi repeated the claims before parliament on March 3.
By March 26, 118 dockets handled by the task team were reassigned to Lt-Gen Hilda Senthumule, divisional commissioner of detective and forensic services on instruction from Lt-Gen Shadrick Sibiya. The number grew to 121 by mid-April.
Further developments followed, including the cancellation of a R360m SAPS contract linked to Matlala on May 13 and his arrest a day later.
Cellphone records seized from his home allegedly showed cartel interference in SAPS operations. On June 26, divisional commissioner of crime intelligence Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo – who had been project leader of the task team – was arrested on fraud and corruption charges.
Motau said these incidents would be tested against allegations raised by Mkhwanazi, who is expected to shed light on the breakdown of trust within the justice system.
The commission, formally established on July 23, has been allocated six months to complete its work.
“These events are quite material as serving as signposts and in the context of which the evidence needs to be located and tested for purposes of credibility,” he said.
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