Guns Used in Engineer's Murder Linked to String of Violent Crimes, Inquiry Hears
Johannesburg – The Madlanga Commission, established to investigate alleged corruption and political interference within South Africa’s criminal justice system, heard on Monday that firearms used in the murder of engineer Armand Swart have been linked to a staggering 24 other violent crimes, including at least 20 murders.
The revelation came during testimony from Brigadier Mishak Mkhabela, the national head of the police's ballistics section. Mkhabela explained to the commission how the Integrated Ballistics Identification System (IBIS) was instrumental in uncovering the connections between the firearms used in Swart's killing and the other unsolved crimes. IBIS works by comparing digital images of ballistic evidence, such as bullets and cartridge cases, allowing police to identify firearms used in multiple incidents.
The testimony before the commission is the latest development in a case that has gripped the nation. In July, KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi alleged at a media conference that organised criminals had infiltrated South Africa’s justice system. These allegations prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to establish the Madlanga Commission to probe the serious claims of "political interference and corruption in the criminal justice system”.
The murder of 29-year-old Armand Swart, a father-of-two, occurred on 17 April 2024, when he was shot 23 times by alleged hitmen outside the offices of his employer, Q Tech, in Vereeniging. It is believed that Swart was a victim of mistaken identity. Police officers investigating Swart's murder previously testified about the difficulties they encountered in getting a police ballistics expert to confirm suspected links between the guns seized in that investigation and other crimes.
Witness B, who testified last week, stated that the police ballistics analyst initially assigned to the case, a Captain Magotla, had indicated that the guns used could be linked to multiple other crimes. However, this information was not included in his official report. This prompted the investigating team to seek a second opinion from a ballistics analyst in Amanzimtoti, who re-examined the weapons.
The commission's chief evidence leader, Matthew Chaskalson, explained that details of certain cases linked to the Swart guns had been redacted from the infographic presented to the commission. "That’s because it concerns a number of cases which haven’t yet been brought to court, and the investigating officers are still gathering evidence, and they’ve asked us not to identify the specifics of the cases so that the suspects, other than the shooters, don’t know that the ballistics confirmations have taken place. So, I don’t want you to mention any of the names of the cases," Chaskalson instructed Mkhabela.
The Madlanga commission heard that the IBIS system could identify potential links between bullets from particular crime scenes and other crimes within 24 hours. However, Brigadier Mkhabela stressed that these potential links still needed to be confirmed by examining the bullets linked to these other crimes under a microscope and then verifying that they did, in fact, match.
Mkhabela also added that this verification process often took a great deal of time because there were only three IBIS analysts who were able to do this.
In July, following the additional tests, police confirmed that the guns used to kill Swart were also used in the 2022 murders of Oupa John Sefoka, known as DJ Sumbody, and his two bodyguards. National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe stated at the time: "Those firearms came up positive in the case of DJ Sumbody and his two bodyguards. They were positively linked. Those four firearms are [now] linked to at least 10 high-profile cases that include murder as well as attempted murder."
Mathe further revealed the connections between suspects in the Swart and DJ Sumbody cases: "We now know the suspects arrested in the Swart case are the same suspects arrested [for] DJ Sumbody, but what is also interesting is that the two alleged hitmen in this particular case are also linked to the Tebogo Thobejane attempted murder."
The commission's investigation has also revealed that tenderpreneur Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala was arrested in connection with the attempted murder of Thobejane in May this year. He is currently facing trial alongside Musa Kekana and Tiego Mabusela, who are also accused of Swart’s murder.
The evidence presented at the Madlanga Commission underscores the complex web of organised crime and violence plaguing South Africa. The commission's ongoing investigation aims to uncover the extent of corruption and political interference within the criminal justice system and to recommend measures to strengthen law enforcement and ensure accountability. The revelations about the links between the Swart murder and other violent crimes highlight the urgent need for improved ballistics analysis capabilities and a more efficient criminal justice system to bring perpetrators to justice and protect communities from further violence.
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