The former national head of the Hawks, Lieutenant-General Seswantsho Godfrey Lebeya, appears before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, where he testified about the raid on Katiso “KT” Molefe’s house.
Image: Itumeleng English / ANA Studio
Retired Hawks head Godfrey Lebeya has admitted ordering Hawks officers to Katiso “KT” Molefe’s Sandton residence during a police takedown, but insists his intervention was aimed at exposing suspected impersonators, not derailing a lawful operation.
Testifying before the Madlanga Commission yesterday, Lebeya said he became concerned after receiving a call from a man named Malcolm X, who claimed people identifying themselves as Hawks officers were at Molefe’s house.
Lebeya said he immediately contacted Gauteng Hawks head Major-General Ebrahim Kadwa and National Priority Offences Operations head Lieutenant-General Patrick Mbotho to establish whether they knew about an operation at the address.
“The instruction was never to unlawfully interrupt the legal operation,” Lebeya told the commission.
Molefe was arrested at his Sandhurst, Johannesburg, home on December 6, 2024, by the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT).
His arrest was linked to investigations into several murders, including those of musician Oupa “DJ Sumbody” Sefoka and engineer Armand Swart.
Lebeya said Kadwa and Mbotho both denied knowledge of the operation.
After Malcolm X sent him the address, Lebeya forwarded it to Kadwa and Mbotho, instructing them to go to the scene and establish who was operating there.
His stated objective, he said, was to determine whether people were falsely presenting themselves as Hawks members and, if so, catch them in the act. This was in response to questions about why senior Hawks officials were dispatched while a police operation was under way.
“All police officials are bound to comply with, and only with, lawful instructions.”
Lebeya placed responsibility for the communication breakdown on Crime Intelligence head Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo, saying he had not been informed about the planned operation.
Lebeya described December 6 as an exceptionally busy day. He was due to preside over the Hawks’ annual excellence awards in Pretoria, while handling a stream of official business.
He told the commission he had received 49 telephone calls between 6.59am and 10.29pm that day, alongside WhatsApp messages, SMSes, and emails.
In his earlier testimony, Lebeya said private investigator Paul O’Sullivan sought an update on the controversial Phala Phala probe while claiming he was sitting with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s “friend”, the then-adviser, Dr Bejani Chauke.
Lebeya said O’Sullivan phoned him and asked for progress on the Hawks’ investigation.
According to Lebeya, O’Sullivan said he was with Chauke, whom he described as his “friend”.
“When he phoned me, he said that he was sitting with his friend who's a doctor, and then I just need progress on the status of the case.”
Lebeya’s testimony puts a fresh spotlight on the interactions surrounding the investigation into the burglary at Ramaphosa’s private farm and the complaints later made against the former Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) head.
Evidence leader Advocate Lee Segeels-Ncube asked whether O’Sullivan had explained why he was seeking the information or in what capacity he was making the request.
Lebeya said he had not.
“He did not say, but I just felt somebody else was asking me to provide him with the status of the matter that is handled by the Hawks,” he testified.
Lebeya said he believed O’Sullivan had no authority to receive information about an ongoing DPCI investigation.
“They have got nothing to do with that. I can't report to any other person about the progress of matters in the DPCI,” he said, adding that he did not question O’Sullivan further because “I know he's not a lawyer”.
Co-Commissioner Sesi Baloyi then asked whether O’Sullivan had named the doctor he claimed to be with.
“He said that he is sitting with Dr Bejani Chauke, his friend,” Lebeya replied.
The exchange was part of Lebeya’s evidence concerning complaints subsequently brought against him, including allegations involving O’Sullivan.
Lebeya said their relationship had previously been cordial but changed after he refused to provide the investigator with a status report on Phala Phala.
Chauke ceased to be Ramaphosa’s official paid political adviser in February 2023. He has nevertheless remained involved with the Presidency as a voluntary, unpaid Special Envoy for Strategic Relations and Investment.
Lebeya’s account comes as the Phala Phala affair remains under intense scrutiny.
The scandal centres on the February 2020 burglary at Ramaphosa’s Limpopo game farm, where about R10.7 million was allegedly hidden inside a sofa.
An Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) report into the matter was completed in October 2023 and classified “Top Secret” by then-Police Minister Senzo Mchunu.
It was declassified on February 2, 2026, after mounting pressure.
The Section 89 Independent Panel, chaired by retired Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, previously found prima facie evidence that Ramaphosa may have committed serious constitutional and anti-corruption violations.
Parliament rejected the report in 2022 after an ANC majority voted against proceeding with the matter.
That decision was overturned in May 2026 when the Constitutional Court declared the parliamentary vote irrational and unconstitutional, reviving the impeachment process.
Ramaphosa is now pursuing a judicial review of the panel’s findings.
Follow the story
