PRETORIA, South Africa — In a chilling day of testimony at the Madlanga Commission, a secret witness known only as Witness E has alleged that senior police officials ignored a clear two-week window to prevent the 2017 assassination of former ANC Youth League Secretary-General Sindiso Magaqa.
The testimony, heard on Monday, 26 January 2026, suggests that the plot to eliminate Magaqa was known to the South African Police Service (SAPS) long before the fatal ambush, but was allowed to proceed due to high-level “political paralysis” and ties to a powerful criminal syndicate.
The “Big Five” Connection
Witness E, testifying behind a screen for security reasons, claimed to be a former intelligence operative who had infiltrated the “Big Five” syndicate—a group allegedly comprising influential politicians and business figures in KwaZulu-Natal.
- Advance Warning: Witness E told the commission that a detailed intelligence report was submitted to provincial superiors 14 days before the shooting. The report reportedly named the hitmen and identified the Umzimkhulu area as the target zone.
- The Stand-Down Order: According to the witness, when the intelligence was presented, a senior officer (whose name was provided to the commission in a closed session) allegedly ordered the team to “stand down,” claiming the information was “unverified” and “politically sensitive.”
- The Ambush: Magaqa was subsequently ambushed in a hail of bullets in July 2017. He died in a Durban hospital months later, officially from “abdominal complications,” though many believe he was poisoned while recovering.
A Pattern of Sabotage
The testimony supports earlier claims made by KZN Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi regarding the systematic sabotage of the Political Killings Task Team.
Witness E alleged that the hit on Magaqa was not just about local municipal corruption, but was a “message” sent by the syndicate to anyone threatening to expose the laundering of millions of rands through KwaZulu-Natal infrastructure projects.
“We gave them the names. We gave them the location. We had two weeks to stop it. Instead, they watched it happen,” Witness E testified, his voice distorted to protect his identity.
Internal Resistance and Threats
The witness further revealed that after Magaqa’s death, members of the intelligence team who pushed for arrests were threatened with “disciplinary action” and “departmental transfers.”
Witness E claimed he was forced to go into hiding after his own vehicle was followed by a car registered to a “state security front company,” leading him to believe that the syndicate and elements of the state had become indistinguishable.
What This Means for the Commission
The Madlanga Commission is now under immense pressure to summon the senior officers named by Witness E. The testimony has shifted the focus from the “trigger-pullers” to the “enablers” within the police service who allegedly facilitated the murder through inaction.
Advocate Mbuyiseni Madlanga noted the gravity of the allegations, stating that the commission would seek to verify the existence of the intelligence reports mentioned by the witness.
