Lieutenant General Dumisani Mbotho said miscommunication led to the Hawks’ involvement in the arrest of Katiso Molefe in December 2024. (SAPS/Facebook)
Miscommunication led to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) becoming involved in the arrest of alleged crime boss Katiso Molefe at his Sandhurst home, the Madlanga Commission heard on Monday.
Divisional Commissioner for National Priority Offences Operations at the Hawks, Lieutenant General Dumisani Mbotho, said miscommunication led to the Hawks’ involvement in December 2024.
The operation, conducted by the Gauteng Organised Crime Unit and KwaZulu-Natal’s political killings task team, has been a focal point of the commission’s inquiry into alleged interference and corruption within South Africa’s police and intelligence services.
Mbotho said he was attending a South African Police Service (SAPS) excellence awards ceremony in Pretoria when the Hawks were alerted to reports of “bogus police officers” conducting a raid at Molefe’s residence.
“Of importance to me was whether they are genuine police, and as soon as they sent the message that confirms that these are genuine police, my mission [was] finished,” said Mbotho.
He told the commission that he received a call from then Hawks head Godfrey Lebeya, to inform him that people claiming to be Hawks officers had arrived at Molefe’s home, falsely asserting they were acting under Lebeya’s authority.
Senior Hawks officials told the commission last week that they received an urgent message from Lebeya, who requested an investigation into claims of police impersonation at Molefe’s residence.
After confirming that no Hawks operation was planned in the area, Mbotho said he instructed Brigadier Lesiba Mokoena to send a Johannesburg-based team to verify the legitimacy of the operation.
“My instructions to him [were] in relation to whether the human beings that were at the door are real police or not real police because someone has gone there and said they were Hawks and Hawks said they had no operation,” he said.
Mokoena told the commission he sent two members from his tactical unit and denied sending a large contingent and a helicopter, which arrived during Molefe’s arrest. Mbotho also said the operation required one police vehicle to verify.
Mbotho said Mokoena chose Captain Barry Kruger to attend the scene, a decision he supported because Kruger “was the closest to the area”.
“To verify if the person is a police officer or not, all you need is for him to produce his appointment certificate. Now to verify if his operation is legitimate or not, you need to check if there is a valid warrant of arrest,” he said.
He added that WhatsApp messages show he received Molefe’s address directly from Lebeya, who had initially raised the alarm.
“When we sent him there, at the back of our minds was that the people are not police,” said Mbotho.
Anonymous police witnesses have testified before stating Molefe and co-accused Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala held immense influence in the police service. Witness A said after the Hawks’ intrusion, they had to detain Molefe at Pretoria Central police station as a “high risk” individual.
On Monday, Mbotho said he did not know Molefe personally and only learned whose residence it was after KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s 6 July media briefing, which accused suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu and Deputy National Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya of disbanding the KZN task team to protect criminal syndicates.
“I am not attempting to distance myself from Molefe,” said Mbotho.
“I did not know of any wrongdoing he had done.”
He told the commission that multiple incidents of police impersonation informed his decision to act quickly, adding that there have been many similar cases. The police have reported 33 cases of criminals falsely claiming to be police, he said.
However, Mbotho faced tough questions from evidence leaders about why Hawks officers reportedly remained at the scene for nearly 50 minutes after learning the operation was legitimate and authorised by Crime Intelligence head Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo.
“I do not know why my team stayed longer than needed at the scene,” said Mbotho.
The Hawks, he said, had been under pressure to verify the information rapidly for Lebeya.
Earlier, Hawks Warrant Officer Sabelo Nkosi told the commission that a civilian — later identified as Mthethwa, a relative of Molefe — was the one who called senior Hawks officials claiming to report “fake police” at the Sandhurst address.
Mthethwa is now at the centre of the controversy, accused of contacting Hawks leadership to protect Molefe from arrest. He has been accused of calling Mokoena and passing the phone to the KZN task team.
Hawks officials Kruger, Mokoena and Mbotho have denied knowing Mthethwa.
“I do not know Mthethwa,” he said.