Former head of the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (DPCI), known as the Hawks, Godfrey Lebeya, has called on South Africans to stop speculating over who called him during the alleged stand-off between the Hawks and other law-enforcement agencies during an operation outside murder-accused Katiso Molefe’s home last December.

This comes as Johannesburg businessman and self-styled anti-corruption crusader Malcolm X revealed that his consulting business allows him access to some of the country’s leading political figures, including police ministers, police commissioners and top businesspeople.

Molefe alongside his three co-accused appeared for their bail application at the Alexandra Magistrates Court recently, where their case was postponed to August 6 with Malcom X – not to be confused with the late African-American civil rights activist -who now finds himself at the centre of a media storm after he claimed that he initiated the call to Lebeya, as law enforcement agencies descended on Molefe’s Sandhurst home last year. 

However, Lebeya has indicated that he will not be commenting any further on this matter, as everything will be ventilated once the Commission of Inquiry, established by President Cyril Ramaphosa to investigate serious allegations of corruption and criminal infiltration within the South African Police Service (SAPS), kicks-off next month.

“Thank you for your inquiry. The critical issue of who called and for what purpose has been settled. Now that the Commission is set to start in August, I shall provide any other details at the Commission. Thank you very much for your understanding,” Lebeya stated.

At the time of the alleged call by Malcolm X, reports indicate that police were effecting an arrest at Molefe’s home concerning the murder of 30-year-old engineer, Armand Swart, who was shot 23 times inside in his vehicle by assailants travelling in a white vehicle, on April 17, 2024.

As a result of ballistic reports and additional evidence on the AK47 used in Swart’s murder, this week, Molefe was also slapped with additional charges for the alleged murder of another musician, Hector Buthelezi, known as DJ Vintos.

The AK47 allegedly used in these two murders is also linked to the violent killing of Don Tindleni, and DJ Sumbody and the DJ’s two bodyguards in Woodmead in November 2022.

On Tuesday, Malcolm X, who in 2023 also appeared before the Alexandra Magistrate alongside three police officers on two counts of corruption and extortion, confirmed that he phoned Lebeya on the day Katiso ‘KT’ Molefe was arrested in December 2024, amid ongoing probes into the murder of popular musicians and other high-profile personalities. 

While speaking during a Space conversation on the social media platform X, the controversial businessman claimed that his consulting business, with interests in mining, law, and engineering has allowed him access to some of the biggest names in various industries. 

This comes as KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, in a widely circulated press briefing, alleged that certain businesspeople with ties to senior police figures were interfering with investigations. 

“I run a consulting business. My business allows me freedom and access to ministers, lawyers, doctors, police commissioners, and ministers. If you say you want to meet with the President, I can arrange that…If you are to say to me how Lebeya and I met for the first time. I would say to you, I was consulted by a client, who said, Malcolm, can you meet Lebeya for me for this matter. I said to the client, I can do that. I had not met Lebeya at the time. I had spoken to him before that. I then called him and asked for a meeting, and he invited me to his office in Pretoria, then we met,” he said.

He added that on the day, he received a call from one of his clients, believed to be related to Molefe, who wanted him to ascertain if the law enforcement agencies outside Molefe’s Sandton home were genuine police officers.

As a result, he said, he drove for less than five minutes to Molefe’s home, where his enquiries were met with resistance, prompting him to call Lebeya.

“When one of my clients called me, saying there are people who say they are policemen and women at my brother’s house, in Sandhurst, please verify if they are policemen or not. If they are policemen, please ask them if we can involve a lawyer. If my brother is being arrested, they can tell us where they are taking him… I went there and tried to speak to them…I then called the minister of police, but he did not pick up, and then I called Lebeya, and he picked up. I said to him, General, there are people here who claim they are policemen sent by you, the Hawks, but they will not produce their identification, can you verify?” Malcolm X said.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za

Source link