IPID Assistant Director of Investigations Zelda Maphosho is expected to resume testimony at the Madlanga Commission following a tense hearing about the handling of a cocaine trafficking investigation.
Maphosho’s appearance comes after a session on Monday in which commissioners scrutinised her investigation into the arrest of three law enforcement officials accused of attempting to steal drugs seized during one of Gauteng’s largest narcotics busts.
The case stems from a July 2021 operation in Aeroton, south of Johannesburg, where police confiscated 751 kilograms of cocaine from a truck.
The seizure was quickly overshadowed by allegations that two SAPS officers, a Gauteng traffic officer and civilian Tumelo Nku attempted to unlawfully access the consignment.
After their arrests, the officers lodged a complaint with IPID, triggering an investigation that has now come under intense examination before the commission.
A key flashpoint emerged when commission chairperson Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga challenged Maphosho over references in her documentation describing Nku as a police informer.
“Why do you call him an informer? Does it mean that you accepted he was an informer, because you are stating it as a fact?” Madlanga asked.
Maphosho responded that the description was based on information provided by Nku himself.
“I am stating this because that is the information that he gave us. However, the information was not verified because he mentioned a handler as a certain General who had already passed on,” she testified.
The commission was also presented with WhatsApp messages exchanged between Nku and Gauteng traffic officer Samuel Mashaba, allegedly detailing plans to help the cocaine-laden truck avoid police detection.
Proceedings are expected to resume at 9:30am as the commission continues probing the allegations.
IOL Politics
Kamogelo Moichela
iol.co.za
