A Hawks investigator has admitted that detectives undermined their own undercover operation by alerting a colleague to an entrapment sting linked to an alleged R250,000 bribery scheme.
Warrant Officer Phuti Mashala made the concession while testifying before the Madlanga Commission, where he faced questions over the handling of an investigation involving the alleged theft of R1.5 million from businessman Ali Raja.
The case centred on JMPD officer Eric Mphahlele, who has since been convicted. Mashala told the commission that fellow Hawks officer Captain Keshi Mabunda and JMPD Inspector Tintswalo Rikhotso had allegedly offered to arrange a R250,000 bribe in exchange for making the case against Mphahlele disappear.
However, the operation came under scrutiny after Mashala revealed that detectives informed Mabunda about the entrapment operation during a second meeting, despite believing she was involved in the alleged bribery plot.
Commission chairperson Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga questioned why the investigators had disclosed such sensitive information to someone they suspected of being part of the scheme.
Madlanga described the decision as a “very glaring mistake”, saying it defeated the purpose of the operation.
He also challenged Mashala on whether Hawks investigators were supposed to be specialised detectives, even referring to them as “super detectives”.
Mashala agreed that the decision made little sense.
The testimony has placed the investigators’ handling of the operation under the spotlight, with the commission examining how the alleged bribery scheme was investigated and why a key element of the sting was disclosed.