Madlanga hears Crime Intelligence members were complicit in the murder of Sindiso Magaqa

An undercover Crime Intelligence officer on Monday told the Madlanga Commission that Crime Intelligence members were involved in the 2017 murder of former ANC Youth League secretary-general Sindiso Magaqa.

The officer — referred to only as Witness E for his own safety — said that two weeks before the murder, he received a phone call from one of the hitmen, who was an informant, outlining plans to “take out” Magaqa.

Witness E said he alerted his superiors in Crime Intelligence, but the information was not acted on. He claimed that some of his senior officers were involved in executing the plot to murder Magaqa.

“Had my seniors reacted to the information I shared, the killing of Magaqa could have been averted,” he told the Madlanga Commission, which resumed on Monday after a seven-week break.

Magaqa, a former ANC Youth League secretary-general, was shot in KZN’s uMzimkhulu Municipality, where he was a councillor, in July 2017. He died in September 2017.

Read more: Political Killings Task Team probe leads to hitman’s conviction while Madlanga Commission continues

In July 2025, Sibusiso Ncengwa was sentenced to an effective 25 years’ imprisonment by the KZN Division of the High Court in Pietermaritzburg for Magaqa’s murder. He named his co-conspirators and the alleged mastermind, former municipal manager Stanley Sikhosana, who faces charges relating to the murder.

On Monday, Witness E also told the commission that the then police minister, Senzo Mchunu, phoned him in December 2024 to request information about Magaqa’s murder.

“I informed him about what happened, and particularly the police minister asked me, ‘Who are the SAPS officials who were involved in the planning and killing?’

“I told him who those officials were, and what their alleged role was in the killing of Magaqa. I did give him all the names of all those officials,” he claimed.

Witness E said Mchunu asked him whether Crime Intelligence boss Dumisani Khumalo was involved in Magaqa’s murder.

“I told him [that] at the time, July 2017, General Khumalo was not part of Crime Intelligence and not in KZN. I made it clear to the minister that Khumalo was not involved in the assassination and only came to know of him later on.”

Witness E said Mchunu also asked whether former police minister Bheki Cele was involved in the murder. He told Mchunu that Cele had no involvement.

He said Mchunu called him on multiple occasions, including in the run-up to the commission, and that Mchunu attempted to persuade him to lie to the commission.

He testified that Mchunu wanted to dictate what should be included in his statement and had alleged that Khumalo failed to take any action against officials implicated in the murder of Magaqa.

Witness E also alleged that Mchunu encouraged him to submit grievances about his work at Crime Intelligence directly to his (Mchunu’s) email address.

The Madlanga Commission is hearing evidence of alleged criminality, political interference and corruption within South Africa’s law enforcement agencies, following claims by KZN police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi that top officials had conspired to obstruct investigations into criminal syndicates.

Mkhwanazi alleged that Mchunu disbanded the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), set up in 2018, to shield politically connected members of a criminal syndicate from prosecution. Khumalo was the administrative head of the PKTT.

Mchunu has denied the allegations and said he disbanded the PKTT due to funding issues and a plan to incorporate it into the SAPS Murder and Robbery Unit. He’s yet to respond to Monday’s allegations.

Read more: Senzo Mchunu defends decision to disband National Political Killings Task Team as ‘inevitable'

Phendukani Mabhida murder

Before Witness E’s testimony, the commission heard from Major General Anthony Gopaul, the acting deputy KZN police commissioner.

He testified that he received a call from Mchunu about the February 2025 murder of the ANC’s Mandeni Ward 18 councillor, Phendukani Mabhida.

“I received a call from the minister enquiring what transpired with the murder. I did not recognise the voice, nor did I have the number of the caller on my phone. I asked who I was speaking to, and he said he is Minister Mchunu.

“After that, I briefed the minister what transpired in the murder. He asked me to keep him abreast of the investigation, and I told him I’m not investigating it and it was probed by the National Political Killings Task Team.”

Gopaul said Mchunu later sought background on allegations against former ANC councillor Vishnugopal Govender, who defected to the MK party and won an April by-election in KwaDukuza Municipality. He told Mchunu that only past complaints involving Govender’s son existed, with no new cases registered.

The commission heard that the direct contact fuelled fears of political interference and raised concerns about a possible breach of protocol, as such matters should be handled through senior SAPS command channels.

Dozens more witnesses

On Monday, the commission’s spokesperson, Jeremy Michaels, said dozens of witnesses were expected to testify over the coming months as the probe continues under the terms of reference issued by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 23 July 2025.

He said Phase One had focused on establishing the factual basis of Mkhwanazi’s allegations, with the commission hearing evidence from witnesses able to substantiate the claims that led to its formation.

Phase Two, currently under way, allows those implicated to respond to the allegations and raise their own claims.

Phase Three will see Mkhwanazi and supporting witnesses recalled, with their evidence subjected to testing through questioning and rebuttal. DM