Senona returns to Madlanga Commission as questions grow over missing R200m cocaine

Lesetja Senona, the KwaZulu-Natal Hawks head who held the keys to a Hawks strong room, is due to return to the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry as the panel continues to probe the disappearance of a large consignment of seized cocaine.

Who, what and where

The commission is investigating the 2021 theft of 541kg of confiscated cocaine from the Hawks’ Port Shepstone offices. The drugs have been estimated to be worth about R200 million.

New testimony and the keys

Brig. Campbell Nyuswa, the KwaZulu-Natal Hawks commander, told the commission that the cocaine had been stored in a secure strong room and that Senona had been given a set of keys to that facility.

“I thought the drugs would be safe because Senona had the keys and the safe could not be breached and certainly not without being detected,” Nyuswa told the commission.

Security concerns and past use of the strong room

Nyuswa said he had been aware of security concerns at the Port Shepstone offices before the cocaine was stored there, but his confidence rested on the strength of the walk-in safe and restricted access.

He also told the commission that the strong room had previously been used to store large quantities of seized drugs without problems, including hashish and mandrax tablets seized during a major operation in Harding in 2018.

Why Senona is back before the commission

Senona is expected to testify again as the commission seeks answers about how one of the most significant drug thefts in law enforcement occurred. Earlier testimony heard by the commission has suggested the theft may have been an inside job rather than a simple security failure.

What the commission is probing next

The inquiry will continue to examine the circumstances around the storage, access and eventual disappearance of the seized cocaine as it hears further evidence from witnesses, including Senona.