Former Hawks head Lt-Gen Godfrey Lebeya has told the Madlanga commission that he made no friends in the criminal underworld.
He said this while defending the Hawks on allegations of disrupting the arrest of murder accused Katiso “KT” Molefe.
Previous witnesses at the commission testified that Hawks officers sent by Lebeya attempted to disrupt Molefe’s arrest on December 6 2024.
Molefe faces a murder charge related to the assassination of engineer Armand Swart, who was shot 23 times in Vereeniging on April 17 2024.
Taking to the witness box for the first time on Thursday in a bid to clear his name, Lebeya told the commission that he did not know Molefe.
He said on the day of the arrest he was contacted by a man known as Malcolm X, who told him that people identifying themselves as Hawks officers were conducting a raid at Molefe’s house under Lebeya’s instructions.
“I directed two senior managers to verify the allegations about persons who were said to be claiming to be members of the DPCI [Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation] and to have been sent by me. I have never instructed members of the DPCI [Hawks] to interrupt a legitimate police operation,” Lebeya said.
A secret witness, who is an investigator in the Molefe case, told the commission Hawks officers sent on the instruction of Lebeya attempted to interfere with the operation.
Lebeya argued that, in law, a charge of obstruction of justice has to show the accused intentionally acted to obstruct justice.
In his case and that of Hawks officers, Lebeya contended there was no intention [to obstruct justice] and he did not know anything about the operation at Molefe’s house.
The purpose of the Hawks’ presence was only to verify whether imposters were raiding a house using his name, Lebeya said.
“I am one of the embodiments of honesty and integrity. I have executed my policing assignment for over 40 years. I have not created friends in the criminal world,” he said.
Lebeya told the commission Malcom X was not his friend, but would explain in camera the reason he met with Malcom X in April 2023.
After the Hawks officers verified the operation was a legitimate police operation, they left the scene.
Lebeya said Malcolm X sent him a message saying: “Thank you for sending people who verified that these gentlemen are policemen and King Nyambose really appreciates all your efforts General. It is a pity that the policemen you sent were not allowed inside the yard and the house.”
When asked who Nyambose was, Lebeya said he did not know but said Nyambose is sometimes used as a reference to people belonging to the Mthethwa clan.
A man by the name of Boy Mthethwa was previously identified to have called the Hawks.
Lebeya told the commission the confusion on the day of Molefe’s arrest would have been avoided if he was alerted by top police management, including KZN police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, about the organised crime operation.
“If Lieutenant-General [Dumisani] Khumalo had informed me, as the national head of DPCI about the operation, or if upon receiving a report about the presence of the members of the Hawks at the scene, he had checked with me, the situation would not have occurred. It is unfortunate that he cited the issue of trust,” he said.
Lebeya said the testimony of police crime intelligence head Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo before the commission showed there was distrust between Hawks management and the SA Police Service.
“I now understand why he has never brought information of any serious organised crime or serious corruption to my attention since taking office and feel betrayed,” he said.
Lebeya will return to the commission for cross-examination.
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