SAPS ballistics analyst relives kidnapping ordeal

SAPS ballistics analyst Captain Laurance Makgotloe feared for his life when a group of armed men, who identified themselves as officers, allegedly kidnapped him in the attempt to force him to ‘rectify’ errors in a report he had compiled.

This emerged when Makgotloe told the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry that the report in question related to the murder of a Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart on April 17, 2024.

Detailing his ordeal on Monday, Makgotloe said the kidnapping took place on January 7, 2025, after receiving a call from a police officer, Witness B, requesting his assistance with a crucial ballistics report in the murder case.

Before his alleged abduction, Makgotloe and his colleague, responded to a crime scene in Vereeniging, where Swart was fatally shot.

Swart was shot dead after alleged hitmen mistook him for his boss. The company Swart worked for had uncovered a 4 650% overpricing on small engineering parts at Transnet. The accused individuals in this case are Warrant Officer Michael Pule Tau, Musa Kekana, and Tiego Floyd Mabusela.

They were later joined by controversial businessman Katiso ‘KT’ Molefe, who was linked as having ordered the hit through cellphone evidence downloaded from Tau’s phone. Molefe is out on R400,000 bail for the murder of DJ Sumbody.

The crime scene where Swart was killed yielded 22 exhibits, including six AK-47 fired bullets, 10 fired cartridges from a 9mm pistol, four bullets from another 9mm pistol and two bullet cores from an AK47 assault rifle.

They were also notified about a second crime scene in Bramley, where firearms were confiscated, allegedly linked to the Vereeniging murder. The Bramley case has 225 exhibits, including one AK47 assault rifle, 96 AK47 cartridges, one CZ brown pistol, one Parabellum 9mm pistol and magazines for Parabellum 9mm pistol.

Makgotloe combined evidence from the Vereeniging crime scene with a firearms seizure in Bramley, uncovering 18 linkages between the two cases and other unsolved crimes.

He testified that Witness B, a police officer, contacted him again, requesting amendments to a ballistic report he had previously handed over.  

Makgotloe told the commission that Witness B told him that a senior prosecutor handling the Swart murder case said the case would be withdrawn if errors in the ballistic report were not fixed.

Makgotloe was on a two-week leave but volunteered to meet with Witness B to attend to some corrections in the report.

The two agreed to meet at Loate police station in Winterveldt township, where Makgotloe lives.

Makgotloe testified that Witness B arrived in a Mercedes Benz V-class with five armed men, claiming they were police officers. 

He recognised Witness B from previous interactions but did not know the others. The group allegedly pressured him to rectify errors in the ballistic report linked to the murder case.

He testified that Witness B and the armed men questioned him about the Vereeniging case, specifically the ballistics report's status and compilation. 

“My concern was whether I was interacting with legitimate police officers since I only knew Witness B. More so that I have heard that a police officer was involved in the Vereeniging murder. Thus, I started having questions about the legitimacy and interrogation and I feared for my life,” he said.

He said Loate police station officers felt unsafe with heavily armed individuals on site and not in uniform. 

At that time, he expressed doubts about trusting Witness B further.

He was driven by the group to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Silverton, seeking case files from the Vereeniging and Bramley investigations despite being denied permission to do so by Brigadier Mishak Mkhabela.

“At about 9pm the group took me in their cars and I was asked by the male officers if I had my office keys with me, which I confirmed I did. They wanted to stop by my house for me to fetch a jersey and I refused. I refused to pass by my house due to the safety concerns I had, fearing that that would expose my family to risk given that I was in the company of illegitimate officers. There were seven of us in the vehicle as we drove to Silverton,” Makgotloe said.

Upon arrival at FSL they asked Makgotloe to open his computer, and they specifically looked for the ballistics report he compiled.

“They started accusing me of manipulating the ballistic report and said they will confiscate my computer. This was just after midnight,” he said.

His three colleagues came to his rescue after they were alerted by an on-duty security officer, who was worried after she had verified the group's vehicle registration through the SAPS database.

“Lieutenant Colonel Sholwe, Botha and Mangena arrived at the FSL and intervened in the situation. They also prohibited the confiscation of the computer and asked them to leave the premises,” Makgotloe said, adding that the ordeal he underwent lasted until the next morning at 2am. 

“I stand by the fact that I was kidnapped as I didn't give permission to officers to take me anywhere and I was forcefully taken by Witness B's team,” he said.

Cape Times