Suspended Sedibeng top cop Brig Abraham Nkhwashu said he was surprised to find that a colleague was helping his murder-accused brother-in-law Katiso “KT” Molefe in a bail application after he declined to lend a hand.
Nkhwashu appeared before the Madlanga commission on Wednesday, where he revealed that on meeting Molefe for the first time in 2024, at the request of his sister, Molefe had asked for assistance in Michael Pule Tau’s bail matter.
Tau is a former police officer who was facing a murder charge for the 2024 killing of Armand Swart, an engineer and Transnet whistleblower.
Nkhwashu said it was during a “stokvel meeting” that colleagues, including Sgt Lebogang Tshukudu, questioned why he had dismissed Molefe’s request for help.
“They kept asking me, ‘Why did you dismiss him before he explained himself?’ I said that is not what I do with people I do not know. I had just met this person and he was already talking about cases, which is unethical for me,” said Nkhwashu.
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He said he was later surprised when he found out that Tshukudu had independently approached Witness B (investigator) regarding the case.
“I did not mention Katiso’s [Molefe’s] name. I did not ask Tshukudu to do anything. I was surprised later to learn he took action and approached Witness B about the Tau case. I never asked him to do so, and I never asked him to convey any message to the witness, whether about opposing bail or about thanking Witness B,” he said.
“If Tshukudu told Witness B or anyone else that I sent him, he did so without my knowledge or permission. I deny that I attempted to interfere improperly in the bail proceedings of Tau.”
Nkhwashu said that in his 26 years of detective experience, bail decisions rested solely with the court, and using a sergeant to influence the process would be both illogical and insulting.
“I know prosecutors, magistrates and commanders in organised crime. I work with them; they are my colleagues. If I wanted to do something like that, I could have approached the relevant people directly. I never did that. My mistake, perhaps, was discussing this matter with my stokvel members,” he said. “I never knew officer Tau, and I had never seen him until the media published his photos during these proceedings.”
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