The bodyguard of suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner, Shadrack Sibiya, has multiple convictions.
The Madlanga commission has heard the extent to which criminal elements have penetrated South Africa’s law enforcement agencies that it nearly compromised key police operations.
On Tuesday, Dumisani Khumalo, head of the police’s Crime Intelligence division, testified about the coordinated police raids conducted on 6 December 2024 at the homes of alleged “Big Five” cartel members Katiso “KT” Molefe and Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
The syndicate is believed to be involved in contract killings, tender fraud, kidnappings and drug trafficking.
At the time, Molefe was arrested at his Sandhurst mansion in Johannesburg for the murder of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart, while police raided Matlala’s Centurion property in Pretoria in search of kidnapped businessman Jerry Boshoga.
Matlala himself was later arrested on 14 May 2025, in connection to the attempted murder of his former partner, Tebogo Thobejane.
Khumalo on KT Molefe’s arrest
Khumalo explained that he coordinated both the Molefe arrest and the search at Matlala’s residence – operations carried out by the Gauteng counter-intelligence operation (GCI-Ops) unit alongside the political killings task team (PKTT).
Due to the high threat level, additional Special Task Force (STF) members from outside Gauteng had to be deployed.
This was necessary, Khumalo said, because Matlala was protected by more than 20 bodyguards, all ex-STF operatives.
“We were not going to be able to do our work if we bring a combat team that is less trained than what we were going to face,” the Crime Intelligence boss told the commission.
READ MORE: Katiso ‘KT’ Molefe’s ‘Big Five’ cartel ties and protection of fugitive nephew under scrutiny
He added that “fresh information” on Boshoga’s whereabouts prompted action “as soon as possible”.
“We are all aware that a kidnapping case is a life and limb situation. That’s why we had to combine the two [operations] on that day.”
Khumalo revealed there had been no communication with the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), known as the Hawks, regarding the Molefe operation.
“It was one of those operations where we had to safeguard because during our investigation and intelligence collection, we had picked up that there might be those individuals from the DPCI environment that are involved [with the cartel],” he explained.
Watch the Madlanga commission below:
The commission previously heard that Hawks officers arrived at Molefe’s Sandhurst home to verify the legitimacy of the police team, which was perceived as interference.
Khumalo went on to name a Hawks Tactical Operations Management Section (TOMS) member, identified only as “Zungu”, who was allegedly collaborating with the cartel.
He said Zungu’s details were discovered on Matlala’s confiscated cellphone after it was seized on 6 July while he was in custody.
Khumalo further testified that Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s name surfaced in both the Molefe – who is out on bail – and Matlala operations.
Allegations of obstruction of justice
Khumalo told the commission that Molefe’s arrest was met with a “clear obstruction of justice and defeating the ends of justice” by certain Hawks officers, Johannesburg Metro Police (JMPD) officer Johannes “Johnny” Mokgatle, and Sergeant Fanie Nkosi from the office of suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya.
He stated that Mokgatle’s appearance at Molefe’s home to verify the legitimacy of the operation constituted the first instance of interference.
Khumalo added that Molefe was aware of the police’s pre-operation activities prior to his arrest and this “talked to him being familiar and working closer with our own people”.
He said Mokgatle reported back to Molefe, which the JMPD officer himself admitted in an affidavit.
Though he had been booked off sick that day, Mokgatle was found at Molefe’s residence.
The JMPD officer also allegedly admitted his close ties to the murder suspect.
Khumalo noted that, given these links, it was no surprise that Hawks members soon arrived at the scene.
He said prosecutors would still have to determine whether those officers acted with intent to obstruct justice.
“The final stages of investigations will clearly give us the picture.”
READ MORE: Madlanga commission: ‘Cat’ Matlala threatened to sing hours before his arrest
Khumalo also identified Booi/Boy Mthethwa as the person who “activated the presence of the Hawks” at Molefe’s property.
Mthethwa allegedly introduced himself as Molefe’s brother to gain entry but, when refused, threatened to call the Hawks.
The commission heard on Monday that Mthethwa claimed to have contacted Hawks divisional commissioner Dumisani Patrick Mbotho, who has denied this.
Mbotho, in turn, reportedly called former Hawks head Godfrey Lebeya, which led TOMS head Lesiba Mokoena to dispatch officers to the scene.
“The activation was under the pretence of police impersonation.
“Whoever chose police impersonation as a reason to activate the Hawks did not have access to officer Mokgatle’s confirmation long before,” Khumalo said.
He confirmed that Mthethwa was an “associate” of Molefe but declined to elaborate further, citing an ongoing investigation.
Links between senior police officials and the cartel
Khumalo testified that someone close to Boshoga had expressed concern that the case was being investigated under Sibiya’s office.
“According to their information, Mr Matlala was involved in the kidnapping and Mr Matlala is very close to the deputy national police commissioner.”
As a result, the GCI-Ops unit, which was already probing the Swart murder, took over the Boshoga case.
Khumalo confirmed intelligence indicating that Boshoga was being held at Matlala’s home, though he was not found there.
“It was really a bad day for the team.”
ALSO READ: Police slam misleading reports about respected businessman Jerry Boshoga
He said Nkosi’s alleged interference hindered the search and indicated that he had been using state resources to advance “the objectives of the cartel” rather than assisting Saps investigations.
Nkosi was not a member of either GCI-Ops or PKTT.
“During the takedown, we tried by all means to limit the involvement of other people because we had invested so much on what we had collected,” Khumalo said.
Previous testimony alleged that Nkosi was also in possession of Matlala’s bank card.
Surveillance footage and questionable conduct
Images of CCTV footage shown to the commission depicted Nkosi visiting Molefe’s home on 27 November, 10 days before Molefe’s arrest.
The screenshots showed Nkosi arriving in a white BMW assigned to Sibiya’s office – though, Khumalo noted, the vehicle lacked the standard Saps tracking device.
READ MORE: ‘He loves money a lot’ – Inside Matlala’s relationship with Shadrack Sibiya
Nkosi was seen entering the house and later leaving with a white paper bag alongside Molefe.
“Unfortunately for us, it’s not transparent so we cannot see what type of chocolate is in there.
“But he is having a bag that does not look like it’s heavy but it has got some contents.
“We will use lots of analytical minds to check what is it that you can carry in such a carrier bag with value, but it’s not that heavy, as then the picture is like he just came in to collect something that was already packed and waiting for pickup,” Khumalo said.
Watch the video below:
#MadlangaCommission 9 minutes after he arrives, Sgt Nkosi is seen being escourted to his state vehicle (white BMW) by Katiso "KT" Molefe. He is seen carrying a white bag – which doesn't seem very heavy. Khumalo eludes to possible bribe money being collected by Nkosi from Molefe. pic.twitter.com/CetO5FC4Ia
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) November 4, 2025
Sibiya’s protector under scrutiny
After the lunch break, Khumalo testified about Stuart James Scharnick, Sibiya’s protector, who allegedly has a serious criminal history – including carjacking and vehicle theft cases primarily from KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
He revealed that the white Toyota Hilux frequently driven by Sibiya was registered under Scharnick’s name.
“A quick profile of the owner of the car, as I’ve mentioned, Mr James, is having a total of 34 cases.
“He was found guilty on 18 of them, 11 were withdrawn and five he was found not guilty. That is the profile as per our systems,” the Crime Intelligence head said.
Khumalo added that Scharnick appeared alongside Sibiya before parliament’s ad hoc committee in October, when the deputy national police commissioner was called to testify.
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