Police ballistics expert Makgotloe charged in alleged murder cover-up

Suspended police captain and ballistics expert Itumeleng Laurence Makgotloe was on Tuesday charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder.

Prosecutor Velile Makasana told the Pretoria magistrate’s court the charge stems from a 2018 case involving a husband who allegedly hired a hitman to kill his wife.

“As the ballistics expert, Makgotloe was supposed to test the husband’s gun against bullets found at the crime scene. Instead he allegedly faked the results, tampered with records and blocked tracking systems to protect the husband from being convicted,” Makasana said.

The 54-year-old was attached to the Forensic Science Laboratory in Pretoria.

The case was deferred to Thursday to allow the defence time to consult with their client over the new charge.

Defence lawyer Emile Viviers said: “We intend to launch a bail application via written affidavit. We require time to rewrite and update our legal arguments to address the new allegations.”

The state did not object to the postponement.

Makgotloe, who testified before the Madlanga commission in February, was arrested last month in connection with the murder of engineer Armand Swart in April 2024.

He is accused of being an accessory after the fact to murder, defeating or obstructing the course of justice, and unlawful possession of ammunition.

The assassination of Swart, 30, was a case of mistaken identity. The gunmen had wanted to kill a colleague of his who had blown the whistle on alleged corruption involving inflated prices of parts purchased by Transnet.

According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Swart was seated in his vehicle outside his workplace at Q-Tech Engineering Company in Vereeniging on April 17 2024, when occupants of another vehicle parked opposite him opened fire, fatally wounding him before fleeing the scene.

“The matter was reported to the police on the same day, and two suspects were subsequently arrested after they were allegedly found in possession of a firearm and ammunition. During the investigation, the firearm and ammunition allegedly used in the murder were submitted to Makgotloe on May 9 2024, for ballistic examination,” it said.

The state alleges that Makgotloe was aware that a colleague, detective W/0 Pule Tau, along with two members of the public, had been arrested in connection with the murder.

Makgotloe then allegedly engaged in conduct designed to protect Tau and his co-accused from facing a successful prosecution. To do this, he allegedly submitted inaccurate reports to his superiors, prevented his peers from reviewing them, and stopped the Automated Ballistics Identification System (Abis) from linking the recovered firearms to other active crime scenes.

“It is further alleged that he also removed the firearm and ammunition to prevent further examination and never returned them.”

The NPA, which says they have assembled a specialised task force for this case, said they will oppose bail.

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