Hawks deny interference in SAPS operation at KT Molefe's home

Members of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), also known as the Hawks have denied interfering with the SAPS takedown operation at Katiso "KT" Molefe's Sandhurst home on December 6, 2024.

Testifying before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Tuesday, two Hawks members and Gauteng Hawks head Major-General Ebrahim Kadwa contradicted the recent testimonies that they interfered in the police's operation.

Captain Dail Christaan Nortjie said his team of five members were dispatched to Molefe’s home by their commander to verify information that people were impersonating the Hawks during the operation.

Molefe was arrested for allegedly orchestrating the killing of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart, who was shot outside his workplace on April 17, 2024.

Nortjie said upon arrival at the scene he noticed a police operation in progress and he first interacted with Captain Barry Kruger from DPCI’s Tactical Operations Management Section (TOMS) who was also at the scene. 

He then met former Political Killings Task Team member Captain Maxwel Wanda, who said they were conducting an operation but did not share the J50 (warrant of arrest) details with him, despite his request. 

Nortjie later informed his commander that “it was a legitimate police operation in progress” and he made a call for the Hawks members to withdraw from the scene.

One of the commissioners, Advocate Sandile Khumalo SC, questioned Nortjie's intention behind requesting to see the J50 (warrant of arrest), suggesting it could be seen as interference. 

Nortjie explained he needed the reference numbers to report back to his commander, maintaining they did not interrupt the police operation.

Warrant Officer Paul Radebe, another Hawks witness, corroborated Nortjie's account, stating they did not interfere with the police operation. 

Testifying virtually with his identity concealed, Radebe mentioned noticing a black Mercedes Benz at the entrance of Molefe's home, with three males standing outside.

As he got out of the vehicle, he saw his colleague Sergeant Sipho Mthethwa from the provincial investigating unit, who asked him: "Are you also sent here?”

Radebe testified that when he asked what was going on, Mthethwa pointed out a man wearing a cap, spectacles, and a backpack, saying: “You see that idiot, he is busy taking videos of us and pictures and he is talking to someone on the phone,  telling that person that we said we are from the Hawks office.”

Radebe identified the man taking videos as Malcom X, who once came to his office in 2022, saying he wanted to share information with the Hawks because he did not trust police in Sandton. He exchanged contacts with Malcom X but has not heard from him since.

 Advocate Sesi Baloyi SC confronted Radebe about allegations that Hawks members, possibly his team, attempted to interfere with Molefe's arrest, wearing golf T-shirts with the Hawks emblem. 

Radebe said: “The members that were wearing golf T-shirts were from my team. But the part that we interfered with (the operation)...We did not even know whose house the address we were visiting.”

He stated he didn't witness any Hawks members, including those from his team, interacting with the takedown team in a way that suggested interference with the arrest. 

Baloyi put it to Radebe that the Hawks teams, including his, were mobilised to the scene due to reports of impersonation, with evidence showing a helicopter was also involved. 

She asked if Radebe's normal duties would keep him informed about other Hawks members' deployments and activities.

Radebe explained that Hawks protocol requires members to submit an operational plan to their commander before conducting an operation, detailing the plan, location, and team members. 

This plan, he said, is shared up the chain of command, but not with ground members, adding: “This is not shared to members on the ground. This is for commanders to know what members are doing. I would not know what Kruger was doing.”

Kadwa, the Gauteng Hawks head, testified that General Godfrey Lebeya, former Hawks national head, asked if he knew of any operation in Sandhurst.

Kadwa was not aware, so Lebeya sent him the address and he understood the message as a request to check for potential impersonation.

He subsequently received feedback that the operation was legitimate undertaken by the multidisciplinary team.

Kadwa said: “I have heard evidence presented before the commission that members of the Hawks were interfering with the police operation of Mr Katiso Molefe on December 6, 2024. I was not aware of these allegations of interference until I heard of evidence presented by witnesses before this commission.”

He said he was not aware of his team's actions at the scene beyond the feedback by a WhatsApp message, which he did not deem to be interfering.

Asked if he was aware of tension between the SAPS and the Hawks during the operation, he said: “I think it would be a big lie if I told you that there was no kind of simmering tensions in certain quarters.”

The commission will resume on Wednesday to hear testimony from a new witness, who is still not identified.

rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za