By Johnathan Paoli
Witness A broke down on Tuesday as he detailed how he was intimidated and threatened with death while pursuing efforts to bring controversial businessman Katiso Molefe, accused of multiple high-profile murders, to justice.
During an emotional appearance before the Madlanga Commission, Witness A spoke of the toll the obstruction of justice has taken on the victims’ families.
“I was warned not to continue with this investigation,” he said.
“I was told I am going to die. But what do we say to the families who have lost their loved ones if we walk away?”
Molefe’s first court appearance was on 9 December 2024, when he was charged with the premeditated murder of Q-Tech engineer Armand Swart, a Schedule 6 offence that required him to demonstrate exceptional circumstances for release.
According to Witness A, Molefe’s legal team “sought repeated postponements” of the bail application, apparently to buy time and manipulate the process.
“They had not disclosed that Molefe had a prior conviction in the United Kingdom. We had our ways to investigate that,” Witness A said.
The team later uncovered that Molefe had been convicted in the UK for possession of dagga and an illegal firearm, and that he had travelled under a fake passport using a false name and date of birth.
This information was used by prosecutors to oppose bail.
But despite the damning revelations, Molefe was ultimately granted R400 000 bail by Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba of the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria; a decision that Witness A said left the investigative team “disillusioned and deeply concerned”.
Witness A testified that Molefe reacted furiously when the Vereeniging Magistrates’ Court initially denied his bail, insisting that he had been promised release.
Molefe claimed to have been informed that people had “met with the magistrate at 3am” before the ruling, leading him to believe there was a “plan to take him down”.
According to Witness A, Molefe accused police investigators of being “funded to investigate him” and spoke of unnamed generals involved in a conspiracy against him.
The most explosive part of the testimony concerned alleged corruption in Molefe’s High Court bail process.
Witness A said the investigative team received advance information that Molefe would get bail and that he would allegedly pay R2.5 million for his freedom.
While Witness A admitted that there was no direct evidence yet to support the bribery claims, his testimony marked the first time in the inquiry that a sitting judge has been implicated in potential corruption related to a bail decision.
Witness A accused Ledwaba of showing undue sympathy toward Molefe’s defence counsel, Mike Hellens, and of downplaying the seriousness of Molefe’s past use of false travel documents.
He further criticised Ledwaba’s questioning of the State on what value could be attached to Molefe’s fake passport, calling it “not proper.”
Witness A broke down in tears while reading his written statement, describing the constant danger faced by officers investigating organised crime figures like Molefe.
He cited the unsolved murder of a “Sergeant Ndlovu”, a colleague “killed for doing his job”, as a source of deep fear.
Despite the threats, Witness A vowed to continue his work.
The inquiry will resume tomorrow [Wednesday], when Witness B is expected to deliver her evidence.
INSIDE POLITICS