POLOKWANE – One of the toughest crime fighters behind some of the most high-profile and dangerous investigations in Polokwane and beyond, has been promoted to the rank of captain in the South African Police Service.

Former warrant officer Phaladi Makola (48), a seasoned member of the Limpopo police tracking team, was officially conferred with his new rank at a ceremony held at the new Peter Mokaba Stadium last Wednesday.

Built for the tracking team

For more than a decade, Makola has worked in the shadows of violent crime: tracking murderers, taxi mafia figures, abusers, cash-in-transit heist suspects, ATM bombing kingpins and armed robbery syndicates.

He has been part of the tracking team since shortly after its establishment in 2009 by former Police Minister Bheki Cele to combat high-risk crimes threatening communities and livelihoods.

Days after his promotion, the national and provincial award-winning detective sat down with the Polokwane Observer to reflect on a career that has made his name well known in courtrooms, law firms, prison corridors – and among criminal kingpins themselves.

Makola has built a reputation as an investigator who thrives on strategy and psychology. Named after his grandfather, who also served in the police before democracy, Makola says his path was set early in life. “By primary school, I knew my life would revolve around some form of sophisticated policing,” he said.

Learning from policing legends

He feeds that passion through constant study. “I read, watch and listen to all material related to crime and human behaviour,” he said. “I have drawn particular strength from the autobiography of the late brigadier Piet Byleveld, who cracked the code of serial killers.”

He also cites the late brigadier Jackson Mkhaulesi who investigated Thabo Bester in the 2022 prison escape case before his passing in 2023, and retired forensic and investigative psychologist Dr Gérard Labuschagne as influential figures. “These individuals confirmed a pattern for me and crime follows certain modus operandi. When you understand the pattern, tracing evidence becomes easier,” Makola said.

That understanding has helped secure crucial courtroom victories.

Breaking organised crime networks

He recalls a time when armed robberies were rife across Limpopo. Working with the tracking team, Makola helped build a case against an armed robbery syndicate that committed 12 robberies in a single day. The suspects were eventually apprehended in Malamulele following a shootout.

“Before we arrested them, their firearms were being used in robberies across the province every day. The evidence we presented ensured bail was denied. Today they are behind bars,” he said.

Makola’s investigative excellence has not gone unnoticed. In 2019, he was named among Limpopo’s investigating officers of the year, listed in a nationally recognised police archive and honoured provincially by former Premier Stan Mathabatha.

High-profile cases

Over the years, Makola has been involved in probing and presenting court evidence in several major cases that assisted the National Prosecuting Authority:

– The Onverwacht farm murders involving the fatal shooting of two women and a man, allegedly by a farm owner and his farm supervisor. The supervisor has since confessed and turned state witness. The matter is currently before the Limpopo High Court in Polokwane.

Also read: Limpopo pig farm murder: Accused turns state witness

– The 2020 Leshabane hit: The shooting and killing of two businesswomen, one of whom was the wife of Stanley Leshabane, who employed three hitmen to carry out the attack. The accused were sentenced in 2024 in the Limpopo High Court.

– The assassination of Collins Chabane Mayor Moses Maluleke where five men were sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2022 murder.

– The Moretje Maraka case which is currently under investigation, involving allegations that the local businessman hired hitmen to murder another businessman outside a gym over a love triangle. A pretrial conference was held this week.

– The Lehlogonolo ‘Shebeshxt’ Chauke matter: a multi-charge case including several attempted murder dockets, set to proceed to trial next week on 11 merged charges.

Also read: ‘Shebeshxt’: Bail denied after court hearing

Despite the gravity of the cases he handles, Makola remains grounded.

‘Ignore the noise’

He says if he could speak to his younger self, he would offer one message: ignore the noise. “There were many odds. But I never allowed outside voices to discourage the zeal in me. I knew I would become a sophisticated and effective police officer.”

Now wearing the rank of Captain, Makola continues to do what he has done for years, quietly building cases, following patterns and ensuring that some of the most dangerous criminals in Limpopo face justice.