Letter to Mahlamba Ndlopfu: General Mkhwanazi turned July into Justice Month

Daily Maverick

6 days ago

Ah, Chief Dwasaho! July, by far the longest month since the invention of the Gregorian calendar, has finally expired — no turkey, no fairy lights, just Breaking News. Instead of 'Christmas in July', we got Crime Scenes aplenty.
My leader: July 2025 will be remembered as the month that gave us the most expensive press conference in South African history, courtesy of KwaZulu-Natal's no-nonsense top cop, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
His 6 July presser lasted just under an hour. Still, the investigations that it birthed will cost an eye-watering R147.9-million — not for bottled water or a mic, but for the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into criminality, political interference and corruption in the criminal justice system arising from the specific allegations made public by General Mkhwanazi.
July, Justice Month
But can we give the general his flowers while the lilies are fresh? Unlike many of our over-scripted ministers who confuse 'pressers' with amateur sketch performances, General Mkhwanazi arrived armed with results. His unit, the so-called Political Killings Task Team, turned July into Justice Month.
Ten politically or gang-linked murders were solved — all linked by ballistics to a single AK-47 allegedly belonging to KT Molefe and his gang. Suspects arrested. Crime networks rattled.
Now, the headline act — Katiso 'KT' Molefe, aged 61, a Sandton businessman by title, but allegedly a drug trafficker, racketeer and underworld boss by reputation. He stands accused of masterminding the murder of Pretoria nightlife icon DJ Sumbody, who was killed along with his bodyguards, Sibusiso Mokoena and Sandile Myeza, back in 2022.
But that was only Molefe's opening act. He is also linked to the assassination of Soweto's DJ Vintos, real name Hector Buthelezi, and the murder of businessman Don Tindleni.
Then there's the April 2024 killing of Armand Swart, a Vereeniging engineer gunned down in a case of mistaken identity; the intended target was a whistleblower at Swart's company who had lifted the lid on Transnet SOC Ltd tender corruption.
Malcom X and Kenny Kunene
And now, my leader, the pattern repeats: 'KT' Molefe nears arrest, and suddenly the political girdle tightens.
This week, 'businessman' Malcolm X told eNCA that on the day Molefe was detained in December 2024, he called former Hawks boss General Godfrey Lebeya to verify whether the officers descending on Molefe's Sandton home were legitimate. Malcolm X said he acted on behalf of Molefe's brother, who feared rogue forces might masquerade as the police. Lebeya confirmed Malcolm X's identity and said he had despatched a verification team. Jeso.
Fast forward to last week, Kenny Kunene, a former Johannesburg Metro MMC for Transport and co-founder of the Patriotic Alliance, was spotted at the Sandton residence where 'KT' Molefe was rearrested. Kunene said he had accompanied a journalist to conduct an exclusive interview with Molefe when the police burst in. He insists he is not friends with Molefe. Didn't General Mkhwanazi speak of politicians, businesspeople and police officers protecting criminals?
The Cat, nine lives and DJ's blood
Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala, also described as a tenderpreneur, is firmly in the sights of Mkhwanazi's A‑Team. His alleged hit squad mirrors 'KT' Molefe's network — the same Tiego Floyd Mabusela and Musa Kekana accused in the DJ Sumbody murder. Notably, Mabusela and Kekana also face charges in attempted hits tied to Matlala, notably the cinematic but botched assassination of socialite Tebogo Thobejane — two syndicates in one deadly ecosystem.
Boko Haram
And now, my leader, the media is peeling back layer after layer of the Mamelodi underworld's onion, and what's emerging is more chilling than a horror flick.
Cat Matlala is no lone wolf — he is allegedly deeply embedded in Mamelodi's syndicate known locally as 'Boko Haram', a brazen extortion network that has terrorised businesses, collecting 'protection' fees with the peculiar courtesy of issuing receipts.
He's reportedly operating as the underworld's chief extortionist and narcotics broker, running nightclub-inspired protection rackets where cash, guns and violence are the price of admission. Some insiders have dubbed him the 'Godfather of Gas and Glocks', a title that feels less metaphorical and more municipal — a man who carved out territory at the crossroads of drugs, intimidation and nightclub gatekeeping.
A recent eNCA Checkpoint broadcast delved into the gang's evolution, once confined to township lanes, now sprawling into Gauteng's suburbs with muscle flexing that mimics terror groups more than local syndicates.
The network reportedly employs surveillance, tracking informants and deploying hit squads if 'payments' slow down. Matlala's alleged role is central, not as a foot soldier but as a kingpin, placed atop a pyramid built from fear, loyalty and the politics of protection.
A patriot with secrets, or brown envelopes?
Now, to the final act: Brown Mogotsi, long whispered to be close to on-leave Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, claims he's not trembling in Gucci loafers, but sitting comfortably atop the intelligence food chain.
He admitted to being what he called an underground crime-intelligence informer, boasting involvement in the arrest of fugitive Thabo Bester in Tanzania, as well as years of covert assignments across borders. He insisted he had been a freelance operative embedded since at least 2009, sharing insider knowledge with crime intelligence handlers.
Contrast that self-portrayal with his criminal record, revealed by Correctional Services: Mogotsi has three convictions dating back to 2011 — two separate sentences for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH), one for defeating the ends of justice, and another lengthy term for GBH plus reckless driving.
Despite this, he insists his history doesn't disqualify him from furnishing 'deep underground experience' to investigators.
So, which Brown are we dealing with, a patriot with secrets, or a fixer with brown envelopes? Whichever version we choose, one truth remains: this is no cameo, but prime time, and General Mkhwanazi's dossier is getting juicier by the minute.
Sindiso Magaqa the latest twist
On Monday, the Political Killings Task Team rearrested Zweliphansi Skhosana, the former municipal manager of Umzimkhulu Local Municipality, in Durban. He faces charges including murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and the unlawful possession of prohibited firearms in connection with the 2017 ambush of Sindiso Magaqa, who was then an ANC councillor.
Skhosana had previously been arrested alongside the late political heavyweight Mluleki Ndobe, but those charges were mysteriously withdrawn in 2019. Why? Prosecutorial discretion or political protection?
Prison vibes
Now to the final act, my leader — the Political Killings Task Team, has just netted two more suspects (one a mastermind) in the murder of DA councillor Nhlalayenza Ndlovu who was gunned down in December 2023 at his Mpophomeni home in Pietermaritzburg.
Among the newly arrested were a 56-year-old inkosi and a 26-year-old man. According to the police, the hit was coordinated from inside Pietermaritzburg Correctional Centre. These two join the three other alleged hitmen already detained, all accused of orchestrating the plot that claimed Ndlovu's life in front of his family. Correctional Services didn't escape Mkhwanazi's exposé, and was named as part of the criminal underworld ecosystem.
National crisis
Of course, none of these breakthroughs happened by accident. Mkhwanazi's unit relied on sharp intelligence, ground-level informants and one scarce commodity: sheer will. And here's the rub — why does only one province treat organised crime as a full-blown national crisis? Where are the other nine generals with nine-point plans?
This is where you come in, my leader.
South Africans aren't just hungry for justice — they're ravenous. When we say 'let the law take its course', we don't mean at a snail's pace with a flat tyre. We mean heads must roll, orange overalls must be fitted, and dockets must stop vanishing like tenders in the wind.
So, as we close the blood-splattered chapter that was July, a month that read like a battlefield report, I ask you, my leader: When last did a general deliver this much with so little PR polish?
When last did a police unit (Mkhwanazi's Men) solve more murders — 436 suspects arrested, including 35 SAPS members, and 156 firearms recovered?
Lieutenant-General Mkhwanazi deserves more than a thank you. He deserves support, protection, and replication.
Now, through the commission of inquiry, we may finally know the politicians, metro cops, prison warders and other state actors working in tandem with the criminal underworld. Perhaps, at last, our prisons and courthouses will overflow with trials and convictions.