WATCH| SAPS ballistics experts to testify before Madlanga Commission in Armand Swart murder probe

The Madlanga Commission is set to hear more details on Tuesday from two SAPS ballistics experts from the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) take the stand over their involvement in the murder case of engineer Armand Swart, who was gunned down last year.

Captain Solomon Modisane, a forensic analyst stationed with the SAPS Forensic Science Laboratory in Silverton and deployed to the PKTT in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), will testify alongside Captain Meldon Mkhatshwa, a fellow ballistics expert based in Pretoria.

The pair are expected to provide crucial insight into the handling, analysis, and chain of custody of key ballistic evidence that has come under scrutiny.

Their appearance comes just a day after Brigadier Mishak Mkhabela, another SAPS ballistics expert, mounted a robust defence of the Swart murder ballistics report, insisting its integrity “was never tampered with.”

Mkhabela, however, conceded under questioning that he was unaware the Swart murder and related Bramley arrest dockets had been transferred from his Pretoria office to a KZN forensic lab.

Mkhabela acknowledged “glaring mistakes” in the report but attributed delays and procedural lapses to chronic staff shortages.

He further disclosed the extraordinary measure taken by police — repurposing a museum into a secure storage facility to house more than 29,000 firearms linked to killings nationwide.

“We live in a dangerous country,” he told the commission solemnly.

The public hearings resume at 09:30am on Tuesday at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria.

kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za

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