Warrant Officer Sabelo Nkosi said that he found Hawks Brigadier Lesiba Mokoena’s instruction to divert from a North West operation to respond to a report of bogus police officers at Katiso “KT” Molefe’s Sandton home “strange” and unjustified.

Testifying before the Madlanga Commission on Monday, Nkosi said the instruction issued via WhatsApp and thereafter a call, raised serious concerns about operational priorities and command judgment.

He said Mokoena had told him to “rush” to Molefe’s home because there were allegedly fake police conducting a takedown operation.

“When a commander tells you something, that’s an instruction,” Nkosi said.

“But a reasonable person would’ve thought the priority is the life-threatening operation in the North West.”

Nkosi clarified that in standard practice, when an official operation is underway, a WhatsApp group is created including external stakeholders.

This includes the Gauteng Traffic Air Wing and certain DPCI Brigadiers.

In this instance, no such communication had been established.

He testified that he was surprised Mokoena did not disclose which other Tactical Operations Management Section members were deployed.

Nkosi questioned why local Sandton police, who were closer to Molefe’s home, were not sent instead.

Nkosi said that by pulling him from the critical North West assignment, Mokoena “weakened” that operation.

“There were officers available in Sandton who could have handled the verification,” he said.

Molefe was arrested on December 6, 2024 by members of the Gauteng Counterintelligence Operations Unit (GCIOPS), with the help of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) in connection with the murder of engineer Armand Swart.

However, Nkosi also criticised Captain Barry Kruger for “unnecessary delays” at Molefe’s home, where officers spent time verifying whether the operation was legitimate.

“I didn’t have the power to challenge Kruger,” Nkosi said, “but he failed to stand his ground. He did not have balls.”

Nkosi disputed Kruger’s claim that he did not know the other Hawks officers on the scene, stating that several were part of the same North West operation.

Their presence in Sandton, he said, “surprised and irritated” him.

“Our discussion with Kruger confirmed that we were here for something baseless,” Nkosi said.

He recounted seeing Kruger meet one of the officers involved in the Molefe operation, describing how the two men shook hands and conversed near Kruger’s car.

Nkosi said he did not know what was discussed but believed it indicated prior knowledge of the operation’s legitimacy.

Nkosi used a vehicle-scanning app to check one of the cars on the scene and confirmed it belonged to a KZN police unit, further proving the operation was official.

Despite this, he said, they remained on site under Mokoena’s direction, a move he described as “frustrating and pointless.”

Nkosi added that the heavy police presence made little operational sense.

“If there was any criminal element, I would’ve found everything clean there, the suspects long gone. Criminals come, do, and go,” he said.

The commission continues to hear testimony on the chain of command and operational irregularities surrounding the incident.

kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za

IOL Politics

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