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 / ANAStudio
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 on Thursday, 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 underway.
“All police officials are bound to comply with, and only with, lawful instructions,” Lebeya said.
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.
The hearing continues.
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