A South African Police Service forensic laboratory captain was arrested at his Pretoria home on Friday on charges of defeating the ends of justice. The arrest relates to allegations in high-profile murder cases and testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. He is scheduled to appear in the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
The Madlanga Commission’s Recommendations Task Team carried out the arrest. National police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe confirmed the operation took place on Friday and involved seizures of ballistic reports, ammunition and other materials.
The charges stem from claims of evidence tampering in several murder investigations. These include the April 2024 killing of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart, where witnesses testified last October that cartridges and a firearm were mishandled at the SAPS Forensic Science Laboratory.
Earlier testimony before the commission described errors in the original ballistic report for the Swart case. The report had missing analyses and incorrect case numbers before it was rewritten.
The arrest marks the latest development in the commission’s review of alleged networks inside SAPS structures. It follows the appearance of National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola and other senior officials in court two weeks earlier on separate corruption charges.
