Officer says former head of Gauteng Hawks instructed him to implicate Mdluli in murder

A police officer told the South Gauteng High Court on Monday, that he was instructed by former head of Gauteng Hawks General Shadrack Sibiya to implicate former Intelligence boss Richard Mdluli’s in the murder of his love rival Oupa Ramogibe.

Colonel Johannes Du Plessis testified that he investigated the Mdluli matter but dropped the investigation when he was constantly confronted with dead ends.

He explained that he was instructed by Sibiya in 2010 to write an affidavit which indicated that he had followed up on Mdluli’s matter and came to a conclusion that Mdluli hired people to murder Ramogibe.

However, he told the court that during his investigation he did not find anything incriminating Mdluli and realised that most of the things were speculations.

He said some of the versions on the statement he had written were things which Sibiya told him to write.

He compiled his second affidavit in 2011 weeks before Mdluli and his four co-accused were arrested and charged with the murder.

Mdluli is standing trial with his co-accused Mthembeni Mthunzi on charges relating to the 1999 kidnapping of the late Ramogibe who has an affair with Mdluli’s lover, Tshidi Buthelezi

Mdluli and Mthunzi are on trial for allegedly intimidating, kidnapping and assaulting Ramogibe. They have pleaded not guilty.

Mdluli was arrested with court orderly Warrant officer Samuel Dlomo, Colonel Nkosana “Killer” Ximba and Mthunzi in 2011. Charges were dropped against Dlomo and Ximba after court decided there was insufficient evidence against them.

Mdluli has always maintained his innocence and claimed that there was a conspiracy by high ranking officers to oust him from being a national police commissioner.

Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng asked Du Plessis if he knew about an operation called Ulibambe lingashoni (Don’t let the sun set) which Mdluli claimed was an operation engineered by those who conspired against him.

Du Plessis said he had never heard about such an operation and didn’t bear any grudges against Mdluli or plotted evil against him.

Prosecutor Deon Barnard is expected to cross examine and dispute Du Plessis’s testimony. Sibiya has also been subpoenaed by the court and will take the stand after Du Plessis.

The matter was postponed to Wednesday.

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