Mokoena Denies Sending Large Hawks Team to KT Molefe’s House as Madlanga Commission Probes Confusion

Mokoena Denies Sending Large Hawks Team to KT Molefe’s House as Madlanga Commission Probes Confusion

The Madlanga Commission’s inquiry into the arrest of businessman Katiso “KT” Molefe has become a tangled web of denials, confusion, and conflicting WhatsApp messages.
At the centre of it all is Brigadier Lesiba Mokoena, a senior Hawks officer who insists he only dispatched two members to verify an urgent claim about “fake Hawks” at Molefe’s Sandhurst home, not an entire squad, as others have alleged.

‘Just Two Members, Not a Task Force’

Testifying before the commission on Wednesday, Mokoena, head of the Hawks’ Tactical Operations Management Section, faced sharp questioning about his role in the high-profile incident.
According to him, the day Molefe was arrested, he wasn’t even on duty for an operation. He was attending the Hawks’ Excellence Awards Ceremony alongside former national head Godfrey Lebeya and divisional commissioner Lieutenant-General Dumisani Mbotho.

It was Mbotho, he said, who alerted him that Lebeya had received reports of people claiming to be Hawks officers conducting a search at Molefe’s residence. Concerned the suspects might be impostors, Mbotho instructed Mokoena to verify the situation.

“I contacted Captain [Barry] Kruger and one other member,” Mokoena told the commission. “My instruction was simple: verify who these people are and report back.”

WhatsApp Group Denial Sparks Debate

The testimony took an unexpected turn when evidence emerged showing that Kruger had created a WhatsApp group to coordinate with Mokoena and others about the Molefe incident.

Mokoena initially denied being part of that group, a claim that drew immediate attention from commissioners when screenshots showed messages from a contact named “Brig Kleintjie” widely known to be his handle.

In one of the messages, Kruger confirmed to the group that the operation at Molefe’s house was legitimate. But an hour passed before Mokoena reportedly instructed Kruger to withdraw.

Retired Justice Madlanga, visibly skeptical, asked, “Is the reason you’re denying your participation in the group not because you find it difficult to explain why, after it was confirmed legitimate, you didn’t immediately call off the Hawks?”

Mokoena maintained his innocence. “No, it’s not like that. I didn’t see that message. I was focusing on phone calls between myself and Kruger,” he said.

A Chain of Miscommunication

The day’s testimony revealed a growing pattern of miscommunication inside the Hawks command.
Captain Kruger, in his written statement, said he had told Mokoena he couldn’t respond to the Molefe house situation, citing heavy traffic, faulty tyres, and a lack of blue lights or sirens on his car.
Mokoena, however, said he only recalled Kruger mentioning traffic and told him to “push” through.

Commissioners questioned why Mokoena didn’t simply call the Sandton police instead of dispatching his own officers across provinces for an incident that wasn’t a Hawks operation.

Malcolm X’s Role and the Mystery Tip-Off

Adding another layer to the drama, it later emerged that businessman and social media personality Malcolm X was the person who tipped off Hawks head Lebeya about the alleged “fake Hawks” at Molefe’s property.

From there, the information bounced from Lebeya to Mbotho, and then to Mokoena, a sequence that sparked confusion about who was actually managing the response.

WhatsApp messages shown to the commission revealed Mbotho sharing vehicle registration numbers, including an Audi and a black BMW X5, parked at Molefe’s house.

“It is my assumption that someone on-site was communicating with General Lebeya, who then updated General Mbotho, and in turn, me,” Mokoena testified.

[WATCH] Brigadier Mokoena tells the Madlanga Commission that: “I’m still maintaining that I didn’t tell the truth to my best ability.” pic.twitter.com/hqM6A591mB

SABC News (@SABCNews) October 29, 2025

Two or More? The Numbers Don’t Add Up

Throughout his appearance, Mokoena held firm that he only dispatched two officers, Kruger and another unnamed colleague, to assess the situation.

“If there were more members at the scene, they acted without my authorisation,” he said. “They should have informed me before calling for additional backup, unless they faced immediate danger.”

However, previous witnesses, including Captain Maxwell Wanda, have testified that a “large number” of Hawks members were at Molefe’s house, far more than the two Mokoena claims to have sent.

Wanda even described speaking to Mokoena through “a black man’s phone” at the scene, but Mokoena disputes this, insisting the call came via Kruger’s device. Kruger’s own statement does not mention lending his phone to anyone, leaving yet another unanswered question.

Public Reaction: ‘Too Many Shadows’

On social media, South Africans following the inquiry have described the hearing as “a masterclass in contradiction.”
One user wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Every witness says something different. It’s like a Hawks version of broken telephone.”
Others have expressed frustration, accusing top Hawks officials of trying to distance themselves from a politically sensitive arrest that has already sparked controversy.

A Commission Still Searching for Clarity

For now, the Madlanga Commission is left to piece together a puzzle marked by inconsistent statements, missing messages, and conflicting accounts.

What remains clear is that the incident at KT Molefe’s Sandhurst home and the internal scramble it triggered, has exposed deep communication rifts within one of South Africa’s most powerful investigative units.

As one observer noted outside the hearing, “It’s not just about who sent how many, it’s about whether the Hawks can still trust their own chain of command.”

{Source: The Citizen}

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