A growing culture of impunity within South Africa’s law enforcement and state security infrastructure poses an existential threat to constitutional oversight, raising fears that the state is becoming incapable of investigating criminal conduct within its own ranks.
The warning follows new revelations surrounding the August 2023 assassination of senior Hawks Detective Lieutenant-Colonel Frans Mathipa, allegedly at the hands of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) Special Forces members now facing murder charges.
Willem Els, a safety and security expert across Transnational Threats & Organised Crime at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), warned that the case exposes a dangerous blind spot in state accountability.
“The greatest danger is not simply that individuals of an elite unit may have broken the law, but the greatest danger is if the state becomes incapable of investigating its own security institutions,” Els said.
“National security must protect the country, and not become a shield behind which criminal conduct can be hidden.”
Mathipa, who served in the Hawks’ Crimes Against the State unit in Gauteng, was gunned down in his vehicle after receiving a call from an informant. At the time of his death, he was investigating the December 2022 kidnapping of alleged Islamic State (IS) militant Abdella Abadigga and his bodyguard, Kadir Abotese, outside the Mall of Africa, in Johannesburg.
Mathipa had already served a Section 205 subpoena for information, believing Special Forces operators had a case to answer.
Els rejected any notion that military privilege could insulate suspects from prosecution. “Criminal accountability is above board, whether you are in the Special Task Force, Special Forces, in Military Intelligence, or Crime Intelligence.”
Public outcry has intensified following revelations in Parliament that the state is funding the legal defence of the accused Special Forces operators.
While the State ordinarily covers legal costs for officers executing official duties, Els noted that paying legal fees under these circumstances creates a troubling perception.
He explained that if an officer’s actions are disputed, the matter should be ventilated in court. If the actions are found to have been illegal, the state does not cover legal fees; if the operation was legitimate, costs are covered.
Concerns over institutional protection are compounded by reports that two implicated officers were promoted while facing criminal proceedings: Brigadier General Lechoenyo was promoted to General Officer Commanding Special Forces, and Sunnybooi Wambi rose from Major to Lieutenant-Colonel.
“It sends a message of arrogance to the public and to the country,” Els said. “You cannot afford rogue units, whether in intelligence, police or the military.”
Els said while the allegations must be tested by the court, if they were proven it would force South Africa to confront a fundamental question: “who investigates the investigators when the alleged perpetrators belong to the state security institutions?” he said.
Parliamentary Portfolio Committee chairperson Dakota Legoete said the committee's mandate was to strengthen the law to act against such malfeasance, cautioning that public debate could potentially compromise the case against the implicated individuals.
DA MP and defence committee member Chris Hattingh said he had formally asked the co-chairpersons of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence to convene an urgent briefing with the relevant political and military leadership regarding the allegations.
He said that while the courts will determine the guilt or innocence of the accused, that does not prevent Parliament from exercising oversight over the conduct of the SANDF, its leadership, discipline and cooperation with civilian law-enforcement agencies.
He would also pose parliamentary questions to the Minister of Defence regarding the status of the accused, execution of warrants, Military Police cooperation, suspensions, promotions and whether state funds were being used for legal representation.
Regarding the government’s funding status of the accused, Hattingh said: “The Minister previously confirmed that the accused were receiving state-funded legal representation in terms of section 60 of the Defence Act. I am asking whether that assistance continues, what it has cost taxpayers, and whether eligibility was reconsidered in respect of members who failed to comply with the High Court order to surrender.”
He also wanted the SANDF's response after six accused had their bail revoked and warrants issued, with questions remaining over whether some continued serving in Special Forces and the level of Military Police cooperation with the Hawks.
Security strategist Andy Mashaile said the allegations linking SANDF members to Mathipa’s murder and the disappearance of Abadigga and his bodyguard raised critical unanswered questions.
Mashaile argued that the fact that the bodies of Abadigga and his bodyguard have not been recovered indicates the SANDF operation was designed “to ensure that the truth does not come to light".
He expressed doubt that the full picture would ever emerge, claiming implicated SANDF members “will plead guilty to murder and they will not give information that you want.”
The Department of Defence and the Department of Home Affairs were approached for comment but had not responded by the time of publication.
The accused soldiers,Tumelo Mogaditswe, Kgosietsile Letsatsi, Samkelo Ngwenya, Boitumelo Nteleza, Kgamane Matlou, and Sunnybooi Wambi, were arrested over a year ago and face charges of murder, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit murder, and defeating the ends of justice.
Their bail was revoked on January 16 by Gauteng High Court Acting Judge William Karam following an appeal by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). An urgent application by the accused challenging the revocation was subsequently dismissed.
Their six co-accused - Edward van Deventer, Herbert Mashego, Solomon Lechoenyo, Jacob Mokoena, Richard Mpoetsi, and Olyn Lenardus - remain out on bail.
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