A senior Hawks official faced sharp questioning on Wednesday about the law enforcement unit’s controversial presence at the home of Katiso “KT” Molefe on the day of his arrest, an operation in which they were not officially involved....Click to Read More >>➤
Brigadier Lesiba Mokoena, the section head of the Hawks’ tactical operations management section, testified before the Madlanga commission. He was tasked with explaining why his members were dispatched to Molefe’s Sandhurst residence during an arrest led by a different police unit.
Earlier testimony from Captain Maxwell Wanda suggested the large contingent of Hawks members at the scene indicated potential interference. Brigadier Mokoena’s account of the day’s events sought to clarify the chain of command.
Hawks Dispatched to Sandhurst
Mokoena stated that on the day in question, he was attending the Hawks’ excellence awards with former head Godfrey Lebeya and his direct superior, Lieutenant-General Dumisani Patrick Mbotho. It was General Mbotho, he said, who first alerted him to the situation.
“General Mbotho said Lebeya had just received a call,” Mokoena testified. The call alleged that individuals claiming to be Hawks members were at a property in Sandhurst and were asserting they operated with Lebeya’s authority to conduct a search.
Mbotho then instructed Mokoena to verify the identities of these members and forwarded the address via WhatsApp. Mokoena said he immediately contacted Captain Barry Kruger, relaying the address and the instructions.
According to a prior statement from Captain Kruger, he told Mokoena he was not in a position to address the matter. Kruger cited heavy traffic, poor vehicle tyre conditions, a lack of emergency equipment, and his imminent departure for another operation outside Gauteng.
Mokoena, however, told the commission he did not recall Kruger listing all these obstacles. He remembered only the traffic issue, to which he responded by telling Kruger to “push” through.
Commissioners questioned why Mokoena insisted Kruger handle the situation when other options, like alerting local Sandton police, were available. Mokoena maintained he was following Mbotho’s instructions and was not told who had initially alerted Lebeya. It was later revealed that businessman Malcolm X made the tip-off about “fake Hawks” at the Molefe house.
A Flurry of WhatsApp Messages
Mokoena’s testimony then turned to the digital communications from that day. He stated that General Mbotho continued to update him, sending the registration number of an Audi and noting a black BMW X5 at the address.
“It is my assumption that there was a person who was communicating with Lebeya. Lebeya told Mbotho, who then told me the information,” Mokoena said.
Shortly after the initial instructions, Captain Kruger created a WhatsApp group that included Mokoena and other members. Despite screenshots presented as evidence, Mokoena initially denied participating in the group, where he posts under the name “Brig Kleintjie.”
In one message, Kruger informed the group that he had confirmed the operation at the Molefe house was legitimate. Yet, Mokoena only instructed Kruger to withdraw an hour later.
When pressed by commissioners, Mokoena said he did not see that specific WhatsApp message because he was focused on his direct phone calls with Kruger. He eventually acknowledged his presence in the group.
Retired judge Madlanga directly questioned the delay. “Is the reason [you’re denying participating in the group] not that you find it difficult to explain why, after it had been confirmed with you that it was a legitimate operation, you did not immediately call off the Hawks?”
“No, it’s not like that,” Mokoena replied.
Contradictions Emerge Over a Phone Call
Further inconsistencies arose regarding a key phone call. Captain Wanda had previously testified that he spoke to M ...Click to Read More >>➤
