Suspended police commissioner tells inquiry of family link to murder accused
Mbangwa Nkhwashu testified he is related through marriage to Katiso Molefe, accused of killing engineer Armand Swart.
Suspended police commissioner tells inquiry of family link to murder accused
Mbangwa Nkhwashu testified he is related through marriage to Katiso Molefe, accused of killing engineer Armand Swart.
Suspended Sedibeng District Commissioner Mbangwa Nkhwashu told the Madlanga Commission he is related to murder-accused Katiso "KT" Molefe through his partner, whose late younger brother was previously married to Molefe1. Nkhwashu said he first met Molefe at a restaurant in Alberton in late June 2024, when Molefe mentioned involvement in various business interests including the security sector1.
Nkhwashu has been implicated in testimony by Witness B, who alleged he attempted to obtain the murder docket in the case of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart1. Evidence presented to the commission suggested Nkhwashu visited Molefe in prison after visiting hours and in a vehicle without registration plates1. Nkhwashu confirmed he visited Molefe in prison, testifying he wanted to establish whether Molefe was involved in Swart's murder3. "I wanted to hear from him that 'did you really do or you did not do?' I wanted him to tell me to my face," he told the commission3.
Nkhwashu is accused of attempting to seize the Swart murder docket by threatening investigators, only to retract the demand after becoming a suspect himself2. He testified he never demanded the docket for personal interest or improper purpose but requested it, among others including Molefe's case, on instructions of the provincial commissioner2. He said Witness B later contacted him after learning he was looking for the docket, and told him she could not hand it over as it had been taken by the director of public prosecutions2.
Nkhwashu argued that if he wanted to tamper with the case, he would not have moved the docket out of his district2. Swart died after being shot 23 times in his vehicle in Vereeniging in what is believed to have been a case of mistaken identity2. He worked for a company that had reported suspicions of fraud and corruption linked to a Transnet tender contract2.