Staff Reporter
Public Interest SA has written to President Cyril Ramaphosa asking for his urgent intervention in the promotion and continued placement of Brigadier General Solly Lechoenyo as General Officer Commanding the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) Special Forces, while he faces serious criminal charges.
Lechoenyo – whose appointment to lead Special Forces took effect on 1 January — is one of six SANDF Special Forces members, alongside Edward Albert van Devent, Herbert Mashego, Jacob Mokoena, Richard Mpoetsi and Olyn Lenardus , who appeared in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court this week as part of a group of 12 Special Forces soldiers charged with the murder of Lieutenant-Colonel Frans Mathipa.
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Mathipa was a senior Hawks officer with the unit that investigates crimes against the state at the time of his death. He was shot dead on the N1 near Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, in August 2023.
At the time, Mathipa was investigating the December 2022 kidnapping and disappearance of two Ethiopian nationals, Abdella Hussein Abadiga and Kadir Jemal Abotese, who were abducted from the Mall of Africa in Midrand.
The accused have been charged with murder, kidnapping and obstruction of justice.
Public Interest SA said its letter was endorsed by a coalition of civil society groups that included the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Campaign for Free Expression, Corruption Watch, the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC), Defend Our Democracy, the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, Equality Collective, the Human Rights Institute of South Africa, the International Labour Research and Information Group, Judges Matter, Justice and Activism Hub, Lawyers for Human Rights, the Legal Resources Centre, and Moxii Africa.
An application to revoke the bail of Lechoenyo and five of his co-accused was heard on Tuesday. According to the state, the accused had repeatedly and “deliberately” not complied with bail conditions. Judment was reserved.
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“These developments significantly heighten the urgency of the concerns already placed before the President,” Public Interest SA said.
It said the continued placement of an accused individual in a “senior and sensitive command position” posed risks to “the integrity of ongoing investigations, the safety of witnesses, and public confidence in the rule of law”.
It said those risks were amplified by allegations that some of the accused may already be disregarding court-imposed bail conditions.
“Tolerating the continued command of an accused officer, particularly in circumstances where multiple subordinates are also implicated, raises serious concerns for the credibility of our justice system and the constitutional principle that no one is above the law,” said Tebogo Khaas, chairperson of Public Interest SA.
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“We welcome the Presidency’s acknowledgement of receipt of our letter and trust that the matter will receive the careful and prompt consideration it warrants,” Khaas added.
“Decisive action at this juncture would send a clear and necessary signal that no individual, regardless of rank, is above the law, and that South Africa’s security services remain firmly anchored in constitutional values, accountability, and ethical leadership,” Public Interest SA said.
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