Captain Laurance Makgotloe, a forensic analyst at the SAPS Forensic Science Laboratory, is set to apply for bail on Tuesday, 2 June, after being charged with defeating the ends of justice. He was arrested on 22 May over allegations of tampering with ballistic evidence in the April 2024 murder of engineer Armand Swart. The case stems from testimony at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
Makgotloe appeared briefly in the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court on 25 May. The matter was postponed to allow a formal bail application. National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said officers seized state property, including ballistic reports and ammunition, during the arrest at his Pretoria home.
Testimony at the Madlanga Commission described concerns over a ballistic report on 15 cartridges recovered from the Swart murder scene. Detectives alleged the cartridges were omitted from the report despite being received. A second analysis at the Amanzimtoti laboratory later linked recovered firearms to 30 other crimes.
Makgotloe denied deliberate manipulation when he testified before the commission on 2 February. He said he had processed the Vereeniging crime scene with a colleague and noted the absence of AK-47 cartridge cases despite evidence an assault rifle was used.
The commission also heard that a report was deleted from the ballistics laboratory on 6 December 2024, the same day Katiso “KT” Molefe was arrested in connection with the Swart case.
