By Johnathan Paoli
Senior South African Police Service (SAPS) forensic analyst Captain Laurence Makgotloe, who is accused of tampering with ballistic evidence in two murder investigations, told the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday that he could afford bail of R10,000 and would not interfere with witnesses or ongoing investigations if released.
Makgotloe returned to court as his bail application resumed, with proceedings taking a significant turn after magistrate Johannes Kruger ruled that the matter should be treated as a Schedule 5 offence.
The ruling places the burden on the accused to show why the interests of justice permit his release.
The veteran ballistics expert faces charges linked to the alleged manipulation of evidence in the murder investigations of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart and musician DJ Sumbody.
The allegations surfaced during proceedings before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry and subsequently led to a criminal investigation.
In an affidavit read into the court record, Makgotloe detailed his personal circumstances, stating that he earns a gross monthly salary of R40,000 and suffers from chronic health conditions, including high blood pressure and gout, which require ongoing medication.
The court heard that the bail application had initially been treated as a Schedule 1 matter before the magistrate revised the classification.
During proceedings, Kruger questioned the wording of one of the charges against Makgotloe.
“As your charge sheet reads here, the count he is facing is accessory after the fact to murder. That is not an offence; the offence is murder,” Kruger said.
Lead prosecutor Velile Makasana accepted the court’s interpretation.
“As far as it affects the schedule, if the court is of the view that it should have been Schedule 5, then I accept that,” Makasana said.
The State continued leading evidence from Captain Kenneth Bandla, a ballistics expert and supervisor with the priority crime litigation task team, who is opposing Makgotloe’s release.
Bandla previously told the court that concerns about Makgotloe’s work extended beyond simple errors and related directly to the conclusions contained in his forensic reports.
“Cartridge cases, it’s not an error. Maybe on a different portion of the reports, but it is specifically around the findings of the examination between the firearm and the cartridge cases, so that is what is of concern,” Bandla said.
According to the State, one of the charges stems from a 2018 murder case in which a husband allegedly hired a hitman to kill his wife using his licensed firearm.
Prosecutors allege that Makgotloe, who was responsible for examining the ballistic evidence, deliberately produced reports that could not withstand judicial scrutiny and may have shielded the accused from successful prosecution.
The charge sheet alleges that he failed to analyse submitted cartridge cases, omitted an examination of a bullet fragment recovered from the scene, incorrectly recorded seal numbers and dates, and failed to submit the firearm to the Automated Ballistic Identification System (ABIS) for comparison with evidence from other crime scenes.
The State alleges that these actions amounted to either being an accessory after the fact to murder or, alternatively, defeating or obstructing the course of justice.
According to the charge sheet, Makgotloe “unlawfully and intentionally engaged in conduct that was intended to protect” the murder accused by submitting “two unreliable expert reports” and preventing the ABIS system from determining whether the firearm was linked to other shootings.
The bail hearing was adjourned and is expected to continue on Thursday.
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