On the day of the murder, the suspects allegedly followed Swart to his office in a Hyundai i20.
An investigator in the organised crime unit of the South African Police Service (Saps) has shared insight into how criminals make it difficult for police to link them to crime scenes.
The investigator, only identified as Witness A, testified before the Madlanga commission in camera due to safety reasons on Monday.
He, Witness B and Witness C are living in safe houses and are involved in investigations into Gauteng criminal cartels.
Witness A focused on the assassination of the 30-year-old Armand Swart.
Swart, an employee at Q Tech Engineering Company based in Vereeniging, was shot and killed while seated in his vehicle outside his workplace by two suspects who were driving a white Hyundai i20 on 17 April 2024. He sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was declared dead on the scene.
It was reported that the suspects orchestrated the assassination in order to silence him after he blew the whistle about fraud and corruption linked to a Transnet tender contract.
Four men – Sandton businessman Katiso “KT” Molefe, former police detective Michael Pule Tau, Musa Kekana and Tiego Floyd Mabusela – have been arrested in the case.
Molefe and Swart’s murder
On the day of the murder, the suspects allegedly followed Swart to his offices in the Hyundai i20.
A Mercedes-Benz was also seen on the same street hours before he was murdered.
The Hyundai was a hijacked vehicle, while another vehicle, a Mercedes-Benz C-Class, was registered in Mabusela’s daughter’s name, he told the commission.
Of the phones that were recovered during the arrests of the suspects, one allegedly linked Molefe to the case.
“When we started investigating the people who were arrested, cellphone records revealed that there was someone higher up who was ordering the hit,” said Witness A.
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“That person was initially identified as Molefe and was later arrested in the case. Michael Pule Tau’s phone came with so much information linking Molefe because it was seen in the records of the phone that it was him who communicated a lot with Molefe.”
Police also discovered that the cartridges in the Swart assassination had been collected from the crime scene “maybe for the purposes to dispose of so that they cannot be linked to the firearm.”
This plan, however, was unsuccessful as evidence allegedly connects the same high-calibre rifles used in Oupa Sefoka’s, also known as DJ Sumbody, murder, to other killings, including those of DJ Vintos, Hector Buthelezi and Swart.
Court appearance
The suspects in the Swart murder case made their first court appearance on Friday, 19 April 2024, in the Vereeniging Magistrate’s Court.
“The court was packed,” said Witness A.
“We learned as we were there that the people who were there to support the suspects, especially Pule Tau, as he was a police officer. There were a lot of people who were there to support.
“Some of them were police officers, mostly from the Johannesburg Central police station, as they used to work with him. But we could not verify this as they were dressed in plain clothes.”
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Witness A described the mood in the court as “tense”, with the supporters’ behaviour “threatening”.
“One of the groups during the court adjournment was seen trying to take pictures of us. We reported that to our colleagues and they attended to the situation,” said Witness A.
“It is not usual; this is something that is unacceptable.”
‘We were followed’
The drive back home was as unusual.
“We were driving three different unmarked state vehicles. When we left, before we could leave Vereeniging, there were people joining us and some of those cars were parked in front of the court – people who came to support the suspects.
“As we drove along, we noticed that these cars were trying to drive us off the road. We decided to stop and discuss our way forward because what was happening was not usual.
“We decided to avoid the R59, our usual route and use the Old Vereeniging Road. However, the vehicles followed us and kept driving with us.
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“It is not a usual thing to see civilians intimidating police officers on duty; we thought they were civilians. Even if they were police officers, at the time, they were not doing that in their capacity as police officers.”
At the time, although they reported the incident to their commander, not much could be done as there was not enough information to prove a threat to their lives.
However, now they live in safe houses from where they will testify.
