Man accused of impersonating Hawks head Godfrey Lebeya in court

TimesLIVE

12-05-2025

A man who allegedly impersonated Hawks head Lt-Gen Godfrey Lebeya appeared before the Hatfield magistrate's court on Monday on a charge of impersonating a police officer.
Thabo Theletsane, 42, was arrested on Saturday by the Hawks' national serious corruption investigation unit in Petrus Steyn in the Free State. He is also charged with fraud.
In October last year, the accused allegedly contacted a prominent South African businessman residing in Gauteng via WhatsApp falsely claiming to be Lebeya.
Using a profile picture and personal details resembling those of Lebeya, the accused allegedly deceived the victim. It is alleged the accused claimed the victim's mobile phone had been hacked and, on the pretext of assisting him with a security breach, requested the victim's personal information.
Believing he was communicating with the real national head of the Hawks, the victim provided personal details and contact information of close associates.
'The accused later solicited money, claiming to have successfully 'debugged' the victim's mobile devices. An of more than R100,000 was subsequently paid by the victims,' Hawks spokesperson Brig Thandi Mbambo said.
The case was postponed until Thursday for a bail application and the accused was remanded.
'The community is warned against making payments to police officers as they are not authorised to solicit money for services rendered,' Mbambo said.