General Godfrey Lebeya clarifies Hawks' involvement in arrest of suspected criminal
Former head of the Hawks Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya
Image: Ntswe Mokoena/GCIS
Former head of the Hawks, General Godfrey Lebeya, has clarified how members of the Hawks came to be at a house where a high-profile suspected criminal was about to be arrested by a specialised police unit.
In December last year, a stand-off between the police and the Hawks nearly occurred when both parties arrived at the scene where the police were there to arrest a murder suspect.
The police were there to apprehend Katiso Molefe in connection with the murder of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart.
He, along with several others, was arrested again this week in connection with the murder of Oupa John Sefoka, popularly known as DJ Sumbody.
Addressing the December incident, Lebeya stated that he received a call from an informant indicating that individuals purporting to be members of the Hawks were at a house in Johannesburg and were about to effect an arrest of a suspected criminal.
He clarified that he was not connected to Mr Molefe.
The former head of the unit has faced scrutiny since it emerged that he directed members of the Hawks to rush to Molefe’s house.
Speaking on a news channel on Tuesday, Lebeya explained that in December 2024 he was attending a Hawks annual awards event when he received a call from a third party informing him that individuals claiming to be Hawks members were attempting to arrest this third party's friend. He declined to name this person, stating that he would do so on the appropriate platform.
Lebeya expressed concern over the situation, noting that there have been instances in the past where individuals have impersonated Hawks members or other police officers. This action motivated him to act after confirming with other senior Hawks officials that there was no Hawks' operation at that particular place.
On yesterday's arrests, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) welcomed the action. In a statement, the EFF commended Gauteng’s organised crime detectives and the Political Killings Task Team for their determined and methodical investigation, which has now resulted in the arrest of three suspected hitmen and the individual believed to have ordered the killing.