A number of firearms that were confiscated in relation to controversial businessmen Katiso “KT” Molefe and Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala have been linked forensically to a minimum of 18 attempted murders and murders, as well as other major crimes, according to the South African Police Service (SAPS).
Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, a spokeswoman for the South African Police Service (SAPS), stated on Wednesday that an AK-47 assault weapon and two other firearms that were collected during recent operations had been subjected to ballistic testing. According to her, the findings brought to light a number of disturbing ties to a series of violent crimes that took place over the course of the last three years in the provinces of Gauteng and North West.
There are several murder and attempted murder dockets that are currently under examination; these weapons have been definitively linked to multiple cases. According to the statement given by Mathe, they were also utilised in situations of intimidation and armed robbery. She also mentioned that the revelation emphasised how there is a “profound connection between organised crime networks and access to weapons that are of the same grade as those used by the military.”
Matlala and Molefe are both prominent individuals in the economic world, and they have been accused in the past of maintaining ties to criminal syndicates. Both of them are currently facing allegations that range from conspiracy to commit murder to illegal possession of firearms. The police think that the forensic breakthroughs will improve current investigations, even though neither of them has been directly accused with the killings linked to the seized firearms.
The disclosure is expected to generate even more controversy regarding criminality and impunity, since the names of Matlala and Molefe have been circulating in whispers for a long time in connection with illicit commercial operations and protection rackets in the political sphere. The South African Police Service (SAPS) maintains that the new evidence constitutes a turning point, despite the fact that communities where the crimes were perpetrated have expressed their frustration with the delays in prosecutions.
Mathe stressed even further that the investigations are ongoing and that police are likely to make additional arrests as they continue to unravel the full breadth of the networks behind the crimes. “The evidence we have gathered instills us with confidence that we are getting closer to bringing down syndicates that have operated with a sense of invulnerability for many years,” she stated.
As a result of the revelation, the opposition parties and civil society have demanded that the government impose stricter penalties on those who provide financial support or assistance to persons involved in violent criminal gangs. For the relatives of the victims, on the other hand, the primary concern continues to be whether or not the newly discovered connections will at long last bring about the delivery of justice that has been so long in coming.
