By Johnathan Paoli
Forensic analyst Captain Laurance Makgotloe has defended the flawed ballistics report he compiled in the murder of engineer Armand Swart, insisting that many of the errors were mere typographical mistakes.
Makgotloe made the comments while appearing before the Madlanga Commission on Monday, where he was led by senior counsel Matthew Chaskalson.
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Chaskalson countered his claim of bone fide mistakes, stressing the result this would have for the court case.
“Now it is certainly arguable that if the defence has done its work closely and has spotted this mistake, they will say when the state has closed its case or when they argue at the end, that none of the weapons seized can be linked to our clients, to the accused, because the evidence bag that the report speaks to is an evidence bag marked Bramley case 140042024, and our accused case is Bramley case 149042024,” Chaskalson said.
Commissioner Sandile Khumalo expressed concern about the quality control of Makgotloe’s report.
Makgotloe acknowledged this, but revealed that he had since been promoted.
Makgotloe’s testimony follows sustained criticism of his handling of the ballistics evidence in the 17 April 2024 assassination of Swart outside his company Q Tech’s offices in Vereeniging.
He described attending the murder scene and concluding that an AK-47 rifle had been used, despite no cartridge cases being found.
“AK-47 bullet cores were found at the scene,” he said.
Swart, a father of two, was shot 23 times in what was later believed to be a case of mistaken identity linked to tender whistleblowing.
The suspects were arrested hours later and found in possession of multiple firearms, including an AK-47.
Those weapons would eventually be linked to at least 20 other murders, but Makgotloe’s initial report failed to reflect any such connections.
Responding to allegations made by Witness B last year, that he had told officers the weapons were linked to other high-profile murders, Makgotloe was emphatic.
“I would like to state categorically that I never made such a statement to the investigating officers,” he said.
He maintained that, at the time, the only link he identified was between the bullets recovered from Swart’s body and cartridges found in a Mercedes-Benz Viano in Bramley, shortly after the arrests.
“Thus, I’m not certain whether the investigating officers misconstrued the linkages between those two cases to mean there were links with other cases besides those two cases,” Makgotloe testified.
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He said that it would have been impossible for him to know of broader connections.
“The images of the samples used during my ballistic analysis had not been acquired on the IBIS system at the date I gave the report. As such, there was no way that I would have been able to know if there are any links between the Swart case with any other cases,” he said.
IBIS, the Integrated Ballistics Identification System, is the national database used to link firearms to crimes.
Makgotloe added that he was not even part of the IBIS subsection at the time.
“I only joined that subsection on 1 December 2024,” he said, claiming he lacked access to the system when the initial report was compiled.
Under questioning, Makgotloe conceded that his report contained mistakes, several of which were flagged by the prosecutor in the case.
“I admit that I made errors in the initial report. One of these mistakes was a typo, which I rectified,” he said.
He listed the errors raised with him, including confusing bullets with cartridge cases, but rejected the suggestion that the flaws were deliberate.
National head of ballistics Brigadier Mishak Mkhabela had previously supported this view, attributing many of the mistakes to typing errors.
Makgotloe also testified about his interactions with the Swart murder investigation team in January 2025, after concerns were raised about his work.
He told the commission that he was approached while on leave.
“I was enjoying a braai when they demanded that I provide them with information and reports,” he said.
Describing a meeting that took place thereafter at a police station near his home, Makgotloe said the tone quickly became threatening.
“Upon my observation of their line and manner of questioning, it became apparent that I was under interrogation. I started having concerns for my safety… my concern was in regards to whether I was interacting with legitimate police officers or not,” he testified.
His fear, he said, was heightened by allegations that a police officer was involved in Swart’s murder.
Makgotloe accused the team of trying to intimidate him, describing them as “heavily armed”, adding that officers threatened to confiscate his work computer. He said they only released him after 2am.
He later opened a kidnapping case against the investigators, which is now being probed by the Independent Police Investigating Directorate.
The commission continues.
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