A police ballistic expert testifying before the Madlanga commission claimed that Witness B and her team kidnapped him while he was working on the case of murdered Vereeniging engineerArmand Swart. On Monday, Capt Laurance Makgotloe told the commission he was the ballistic expert that attended the crime scene after Swart was shot 23 times in April 2024. On January 7 2025, he said, he received a call fromWitness B— who has already appeared before the commission — informing him that there was a mistake in his statement that he needed to rectify.
Cpt Laurence Makgotloe has denied telling Witness B, an investigator in the Armand Swart murder case, that the firearms that were seized from a suspect are linked to several high profile killings.Video:@Moloi_Herman1pic.twitter.com/I6ihuiUyfK The two agreed to meet at Loate police station in Pretoria, and when he got there Witness B jumped out of a Mercedes-Benz C class with heavily armed men, he said. They then went into a room in the station. “The group then proceeded to ask me questions about the Vereeniging case and asked me where the report was.
“Upon my observation in the manner of questioning, it became apparent that I was under interrogation. “I started having concern about my safety due to the interrogation given that I was only familiar with Witness B and my concern was whether I was dealing with legitimate police officers.” Makgotloe said after the interrogation they then went to his office in Silverton for the reports where Witness B and the officers attempted to confiscate his work laptop. WATCH | Ballistics expert Cpt Laurence Makgotloe has told the Madlanga commission about the events of January 7 2025, the day he alleges he was kidnapped by Witness B together with members of the political killings task team.Video:@Moloi_Herman1pic.twitter.com/a3NVp1vEE1 “I opened a case of kidnapping on January 8 which is being investigated by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate. “I stand by the fact that I was kidnapped because I didn’t give officers permission to take me to the officers and I was forcefully taken,” he said, adding that Witness B and her team’s approach instilled fear in him.
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