Infighting in police casts a long and dark shadow

The lid seems to have been blown open on an intricate web of criminality in both the SAPS and among those with links to law enforcement. By Yeshiel Panchia

- Yeshiel Panchia

Over the past four years, a complex and deeply troubling pattern has emerged in South Africa's law enforcement landscape — one that links assassinations and sabotage to interference from within the ranks of the South African Police Service (SAPS). It also links a web of politically connected businesspeople with influence and links to top politicians.

What began as seemingly isolated murders of high-profile people has morphed into a deeply embedded saga of political interference, organised crime and internal warfare in the police's Crime Intelligence branch. The narrative is no longer about individual cases, but about a systemic corrosion that implicates law enforcement at the highest level.

Most recently, almost three years after the assassination of popular musician and nightclub owner DJ Sumbody - real name Oupa John Sefoka - and his two bodyguards in November 2022, credible breakthroughs have emerged. On Monday, 21 July, the SAPS arrested four suspects in connection with the trio's murder.

Crucially, ballistic analysis by the SAPS has confirmed that a firearm used in Sefoka's killing was also used in the murder of engineer Armand Swart in April 2024, indicating a clear operational link.

The four arrested suspects, including businessperson Katiso “KT” Molefe, were charged in 2024 with Swart's murder and were out on bail.

Two of the alleged hitmen have also been linked to the attempted murder of actress Tebogo Thobejane in October 2023.

Molefe was apparently linked to the Sefoka and Swart cases via ballistics, telecommunications metadata and corroborated witness testimony. These developments validated earlier findings of the now disbanded Political Killings Task Team, which had flagged similar connections in 2023.

A wolf in police clothing: July 2025