Testimony before the Madlanga Commission revealed that former Hawks head Godfrey Lebeya deployed two Hawks units to tycoon Katiso “KT” Molefe’s Sandhurst mansion during his arrest, without informing them that they would be going to the same location.

Testifying before the commission on Tuesday, Gauteng Provincial Head of DPCI/Hawks Maj-Gen. Ebrahim Ahmed Kadwa said Lebeya phoned him, asking whether he was aware of a Hawks operation unfolding in Sandhurst.

According to Kadwa, he denied any knowledge and was surprised when Lebeya sent him the address, later confirming it was Molefe’s luxury home.

“I was on my way to the Hawks Excellence Awards when Gen. Lebeya phoned me and asked about operations at Molefe’s house,” he said.

This was on December 6, the day Molefe was arrested. This was in connection with the murder of engineer, Armand Swart. 

He told the commission he did not know how Lebeya became aware of the alleged operation or why he contacted him directly.

He recalled sensing at the awards event that others might have heard about activity at Molefe’s property, though he “could not recall the granular details.”

While still at the ceremony, he received a message from a subordinate confirming that the operation at Molefe’s residence, part of a counter-intelligence and Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) investigation, was legitimate.

Kadwa forwarded that confirmation to Lebeya but said he never received a response.

He testified that he only learned through the Commission’s proceedings that Hawks officers were accused of interfering in the arrest.

According to evidence before the Commission, Lebeya had instructed Kadwa to dispatch two units — the Tactical Operations Management Section (TOMS) and the Serious Organised Crime Investigation (SOCI) team — to “verify” whether the officers at Molefe’s home were genuine and not impostors.

Kadwa insisted he viewed the ten-minute presence of Hawks members at the arrest scene as “verification, not interference.”

He admitted, however, that he should have asked Lebeya for more clarity before deploying the teams.

“In hindsight, I should have taken it upon myself to ask Lebeya for more information,” he said. “But when an instruction comes from the national head, I accept his bona fides.”

He emphasised that the Hawks often deal with criminals impersonating police officers, which influenced his compliance.

He said interference would involve improper conduct, not simply verifying credentials. “From what I heard here, I am satisfied there was no interference,” he said.

Co-Commissioner Sesi Baloyi asked whether Lebeya had ever previously requested real-time verification of an active operation.

“Never before,” Kadwa responded.

Meanwhile, Commission chair Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga noted he intends to call Lebeya to explain allegations that Hawks members, under his instruction, interfered with Gauteng counter-intelligence and PKTT operations during Molefe’s arrest.

kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za

IOL Politics

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