KT Molefe ‘a friend of Senzo Mchunu’, police told during takedown

Capt Maxwell Tula Wanda, a former member of the political killings task team (PKTT), has told the Madlanga commission that during a takedown operation at Katiso Molefe’s Sandhurst home on December 6 2024, his alleged bodyguard told the officials that Molefe was friends with police minister Senzo Mchunu.

Molefe is allegedly the mastermind of the murder of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart and has been linked to a criminal cartel referred to as the Big 5. He is also accused of murdering Pretoria club owner Oupa John Sefoka, better known as DJ Sumbody.

Wanda, who is stationed at the Richards Bay local criminal record centre, said he was part of the PKTT when they executed a J50 warrant of arrest authorised by a magistrate. The operation, he said, involved members of the tactical response team and the national intervention unit.

He said the alleged bodyguard, Lehasa Moloi, alleged that Molefe was friends with Mchunu. He said he did not respond to the remark, focusing instead on his duties at the scene. “He asked me what was going to happen now, because the arrested person was the friend of the minister,” he said.

Wanda testified that the team was conducting the authorised takedown when members of the Hawks unexpectedly arrived on the scene, saying they had received information that bogus police officers were operating there. He said while helping to process the crime scene, he was called outside by a fellow member after a group of bystanders and members of the Hawks whom he identified by their golf shirts with the Hawks emblem.

He said he was not expecting Hawks members at the scene, and that their presence was concerning.

I think everything was official, so I wouldn’t expect it to be disturbed or to be interfered with until the execution was completed. So to me, it was something like an interference, because it was an important takedown operation based on the seriousness of the case that was alleged to be committed by the possible suspect that was supposed to be arrested

—  Capt Maxwell Tula Wanda

“The presence of the Hawks was concerning to me because they came in numbers. They came in numbers and I didn’t expect them in that big number. When I interacted with them, they were a bit aggressive and demanding answers, posing questions to me — up until I managed to speak directly with Capt [Barry] Kruger [attached to the DPCI/Hawks].”

The takedown was an official and legitimate takedown, he said.

“I think everything was official, so I wouldn’t expect it to be disturbed or to be interfered with until the execution was completed. So to me, it was something like an interference, because it was an important takedown operation based on the seriousness of the case that was alleged to be committed by the possible suspect that was supposed to be arrested.”

It was important for the team to know upfront who would be involved to avoid compromising the operation, he told the commission.

Detectives have already testified on the Hawks’ unannounced arrival at the operation, including a Gauteng traffic aircraft flying low at Molefe’s house during the operation. They described the event as interference.

The commission heard Swart’s murder was allegedly tied to corruption at Transnet involving a tender awarded to SK Group, a company linked to Molefe’s nephew, Lucky Molefe. According to Witness B, SK Group’s tender win was rigged as the two competing companies were dummy companies. She said the tender process was manipulated, and SK Group benefited.

An investigator into the murder told the commission that many people had an unusual interest in the docket, including members of the public and police officers of different ranks.

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