As the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry resumes today for its final stretch, the alleged “Big Five” remain one of the most closely watched threads in evidence before the inquiry.
A photograph presented to the commission on September 2 showed five men identified in evidence as the alleged “Big Five”. The image itself does not establish criminal conduct or prove that the five men formed a criminal organisation. Its significance lies in how it fits into the wider body of evidence about the alleged network.
The photograph was shown during the testimony of former Hawks head, Lieutenant-General Godfrey Lebeya. Lebeya told the commission he did not know any of the five men pictured and had no knowledge of the alleged grouping.
The men identified in the image were Katiso “KT” Molefe, Steve Motsumi, Ignatius Mothakathi, Andrew “Boy” Mthethwa, also known as King Nyambose, and the late Jothan “King Mswazi” Msibi.
The commission has heard allegations that the group was linked to organised crime, including drug trafficking, contract killings and tender fraud. Those allegations remain untested.
Katiso “KT” Molefe
Molefe, a Johannesburg businessman, has featured repeatedly in the commission’s evidence. He was arrested at his Sandhurst home on 6 December 2024 by the Political Killings Task Team. He is accused of involvement in the April 2024 murder of Vereeniging engineer, Armand Swart.
He has also been charged in connection with the murders of Oupa John Sefoka, popularly known as DJ Sumbody, his bodyguards Sibusiso Walter Mokoena and Sandile Myeza, and Hector Buthelezi, known as DJ Vintos.
His co-accused include police officer Michael Pule Tau, Tiego Floyd Mabusela and Musa Kekana. The trial is scheduled to begin in October 2026. Molefe was granted bail of R400,000 by the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg after a successful appeal.
His arrest has itself become a significant thread in the commission’s evidence, with Lebeya questioned about the arrival of people identifying themselves as Hawks officers at Molefe’s home and his decision to order senior officers to establish what was happening.
Andrew “Boy” Mthethwa, also known as King Nyambose
Very little has been disclosed publicly about Mthethwa. His alias, King Nyambose, surfaced during Lebeya’s evidence when the commission examined a message sent to the retired Hawks head during the December 2024 operation at Molefe’s home.
The commission heard that an informer known as Malcolm X sent Lebeya a message during a police operation at Molefe’s residence on December 6, 2024.
The message read: “Thank you for sending people who verified that these gentlemen are policemen and King Nyambose really appreciates all your efforts, General.”
There is also a discrepancy in public reporting over his first name. Some reports have identified King Nyambose as Andrew “Boy” Mthethwa, while others have identified him as Jabu Mthethwa. The discrepancy has not been resolved in the commission’s public evidence.
Steve Motsumi
Motsumi is a Johannesburg businessman with interests in the security and taxi industries, among other sectors. His name has surfaced in evidence concerning alleged extortion and organised crime, although the allegations remain untested.
Former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks head Lesetja Senona was reportedly reluctant to mention his name during his testimony, referring to him instead as “Mr so-and-so”.
Former Organised Crime Unit head Major-General Richard Shibiri also declined to name Motsumi in his testimony. Shibiri said Motsumi had approached him for assistance in an extortion matter in which he was the complainant. According to Shibiri, Motsumi alleged that suspects were demanding a 50% share of chrome from a mine in Brits, North West.
The allegations concerning Motsumi have not been tested in court.
Ignatius Phehello Mothakathi
Mothakathi was identified as one of the five men in the photograph shown to Lebeya. His name has also surfaced in evidence concerning the murder of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart.
Mothakathi’s name featured during the testimony of suspended Gauteng organised-crime officer Sergeant Fannie Nkosi.
Nkosi’s evidence linked Mothakathi to allegations surrounding the murder of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart. Nkosi also testified that Mothakathi sent him crucial CCTV footage from the crime scene four days after Swart’s killing in April 2024.
Those allegations remain untested.
Jothan “King Mswazi” Msibi
Msibi was a taxi boss who died in 2024. He has been described in evidence as a possible leader of the alleged Big Five group.
The allegations concerning his role in the alleged network have not been tested.
Malcolm X: the link to the Molefe arrest
Malcolm X is not one of the five men in the photograph. His relevance to the commission’s Big Five evidence comes from his communications with Lebeya during the December 2024 operation to arrest Molefe.
The commission heard that Malcolm X had been arrested in 2023 on extortion and corruption charges. Lebeya said he knew about those charges while communicating with him in 2024.
Lebeya told the commission that Malcolm X contacted him to report that people identifying themselves as Hawks officers were at Molefe’s home. After senior Hawks officers denied knowledge of the operation, Lebeya said he instructed officers to go to the scene and establish what was happening.
The commission later examined the message in which Malcolm X thanked Lebeya and referred to a man called “King Nyambose”. Lebeya said he did not know who Nyambose was.
A person claiming to be Malcolm X told a radio station in June 2025, when the allegations first emerged at the Madlanga Commission, that he was not a police informant.
His role and the significance of his communications with Lebeya remain part of the wider questions raised by the commission’s evidence.
What happens next
The Madlanga Commission resumes public hearings today (September 15), with evidence scheduled to continue until October 2. Its final report is due to President Cyril Ramaphosa on November 16.
The alleged Big Five network is part of a much wider question confronting the inquiry: how deeply organised crime may have penetrated South Africa’s criminal justice system, and what senior police officials knew about the alleged networks operating around them.
The commission has not made a finding that the five men constitute a criminal organisation, and the allegations against those who have not been charged remain untested.