KZN cops ignored warnings about an assassination plot targeting Sindiso Magaqa

THE death of former ANC youth league secretary Sindiso Magaqa who was shot dead in July 2017 could have been prevented if SAPS Crime Intelligence officials in KwaZulu-Natal had acted on warnings of a plot to assassinate him.

- RAPULA MOATSHE

This was according to a chilling testimony by Witness E, an undercover operative linked to SAPS in KwaZulu-Natal, who testified virtually at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry yesterday.

He told the commission that the hired hitmen had confided in him, revealing their strategy to take out Magaga, including plans to bribe senior officials at Crime Intelligence Unit for assistance.

According to him, the same hitmen also divulged to him the identity of the person who ordered the hit.

He was disclosing the information he shared with Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, who reached out to him in December 2024 to inquire about the circumstances around Magaqa’s death.

Witness E, who has been on a witness programme since 2019, said he was “shocked and also excited” to receive a call from the minister in 2024 because “only few people have my number’ The witness said he acquired a new phone number before entering witness protection in 2019, adding it is a restricted number.