By Marcus Moloko
Brigadier Mishak Mkhabela is the head of the South African Police Service’s ballistics section at the Forensic Science Laboratory in Silverton.
He is a seasoned officer whose role involves overseeing the Integrated Ballistics Identification System, a tool used to link bullets and cartridge cases to firearms and criminal incidents.
Mkhabela’s testimony before the Madlanga Commission revealed the strain on his unit, which was battling with a backlog of over 41 000 cases and a severe shortage of qualified analysts.
His testimony to the commission provided an eye-opening account of operational challenges within the SAPS forensic services.
His testimony also addressed procedural flaws in the investigation of Q Tech engineer Armand Swart’s murder, including delays in evidence processing, administrative errors in reports, and questionable oversight.
Mkhabela pointed to an urgent need for reform in forensic operations to restore effectiveness in firearm-linked investigations.
Backlog and staff shortages
Over 41,000 cases are pending nationally, with only 33 analysts available instead of the required 66, severely limiting IBIS’s capacity.
Evidence mishandling
A report by Captain Magotla omitted 15 AK-47 cartridges and used the wrong case number, risking the chain of custody and court admissibility.
Delayed evidence processing
A bullet retrieved from Swart’s body took nearly four months to reach the lab, and firearms were uploaded to IBIS five months post-murder.
Administrative confusion and docket transfers
Case dockets were inexplicably moved to KwaZulu-Natal, bypassing Mkhabela’s Pretoria office and complicating record integrity.
Links to major crimes
The AK-47 and 9mm Taurus pistol seized in the Swart case were connected to 27 other crimes, including high-profile murders and attempted assassinations.
INSIDE POLITICS