Madlanga Commission
In a tense session at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, South African Police Service (SAPS) ballistics head Brigadier Mishak Mkhabela stood firm, insisting that mistakes in a key forensic report linked to the murder of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart were simple slip-ups, not signs of foul play. Testifying on Monday, 27 October 2025, Mkhabela called the omissions and errors “typing errors” and “human error,” pushing back against detectives’ claims of deliberate tampering to weaken the case. This comes as the commission probes deep-rooted allegations of corruption and interference in South Africa’s criminal justice system, sparked by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s explosive accusations. With guns from the Swart killing now tied to over 20 other murders, the hearing has shone a harsh light on SAPS forensic woes, including massive backlogs and resource gaps that could let killers slip through the net.
The Armand Swart Murder: A Case of Mistaken Identity and Corruption
Armand Swart, a 42-year-old engineer from Vereeniging, was gunned down on 17 April 2024, in what investigators say was a botched hit meant for his colleague who had blown the whistle on massive corruption at Transnet.
Swart’s firm had flagged a tender scam where small engineering parts were overpriced by a staggering 4,650%, leading to the deadly mix-up.
The attack happened as Swart pulled up to work, sprayed with bullets from an AK-47 and other firearms in a hail of gunfire that left him dead at the scene.
Suspects quickly emerged: controversial businessman Katiso “KT” Molefe, accused of masterminding the hit, along with alleged gunmen Warrant Officer Michael Pule Tau (a former cop), Musa Kekana, and Tiego Floyd Mabusela.
Tau and his crew were nabbed in Bramley, Johannesburg, days later, with a stash of weapons, ammo, and 15 AK-47 cartridges in Tau’s Mercedes-Benz Viano.
But the case hit snags early on, with claims of interference from high-up police brass like Major-General Richard Shibiri, head of organised crime, who allegedly tried to pull the docket away from active investigators, calling it a “cold case” despite fresh arrests.
Witness A told the commission Shibiri and Gauteng Commissioner Elias Mawela partied with syndicates tied to the killing, raising red flags about cosy ties between cops and crooks.
The Madlanga Commission, chaired by retired Chief Justice Mogoeng Madlanga, was set up to dig into these rot claims, covering collusion between politicians, police, prosecutors, spies, and judges.
Swart’s case has become a poster child for how corruption allegedly shields killers, with testimony revealing attempts to bury evidence and slow probes.
Mkhabela’s Testimony: Defending the Report Against Tampering Allegations
At the heart of Monday’s hearing was the ballistics report from SAPS’s Pretoria Forensic Science Lab in Silverton, compiled by Captain Itumeleng Makgotloe (also spelled Makgotloe or Mokgotlwe in reports).
Detectives flagged it for glaring gaps: no mention of the 15 AK-47 cartridges, mismatched case numbers, wrong dates, and failure to link the guns to other crimes. [21] Chief Evidence Leader Advocate Matthew Chaskalson SC grilled Mkhabela, calling one error—a wrong case number—a “deliberate attempt to sabotage the prosecution,” as it could let defence lawyers argue no link to the suspects.
Mkhabela pushed back hard. “The omission was identified, investigated, and corrected. There was no manipulation of evidence,” he said.
He blamed it on a “typing error” and “administrative” mix-ups, not foul play. [8] An internal probe led to an amended report, but Mkhabela admitted he was unaware of a third version with fixed details stapled into the file.
He also questioned why the dockets for Swart’s murder and the Bramley arrests were shipped to a KZN lab in Amanzimtoti for re-testing, saying Pretoria could have handled it. [0] “I am asking the same question—why were these cases sent to KZN when Pretoria could have handled them,” he told the commission.
Earlier witnesses, like Witness A and B, claimed the report was doctored to hide links, and that Makgotloe verbally confirmed ties to other cases in May 2024 but left them out.
The KZN lab later matched the weapons successfully, fuelling sabotage talk.
Mkhabela dismissed this as “unfair to suggest deliberate wrongdoing,” but conceded the original affidavit had discrepancies and was backdated in fixes.
Weapons Linked to a Web of Murders: The Bigger Picture Emerges
Mkhabela dropped a bombshell with a graphic showing four firearms from the Bramley haul tied to 24 other violent crimes, including at least 20 murders.
These include the 2022 killings of amapiano star Oupa “DJ Sumbody” Sefoka in Johannesburg and Hector “DJ Vintos” Buthelezi in KZN, plus hits on figures like Don Tindleni in March 2023.
“The same firearms recovered in Bramley following Swart’s murder were connected to over 20 other murders,” he said, though full ballistic checks are ongoing.
But the links were slow to surface. Evidence was only uploaded to the Ballistics Information System (BIS) in September 2024—months after the murder—due to “procedural inefficiencies” and “not much urgency.” [0] Even more alarming: the bullet from Swart’s autopsy arrived at the lab three months late, which Mkhabela called “highly irregular” as post-mortems usually happen fast.
This delay, he said, piles pressure on teams when cases hit court.
SAPS Forensic Crisis: Backlogs, Shortages, and a ‘Dangerous Country’
Mkhabela painted a grim picture of SAPS forensics buckling under strain. With staff shortages and outdated kit, over 41,846 cases await analysis, including 29,000 firearms in storage. [17] “If South Africans wanted to grasp the high level of crime involving firearms, they just needed to visit his strong room where he kept exhibits,” he warned, calling South Africa a “dangerous country” flooded with guns. [17] The BIS system costs R3.8 million a year to run but is only partly working, leaving 6,000 cases from 2023 and 12,000 from 2024 hanging.
He blamed delays on resource gaps, saying without more analysts and gear, justice stalls and courts issue arrest warrants over missing reports. This echoes earlier testimony from Lt-Gen Mkhwanazi, who flagged omissions in forensics tied to syndicates.
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