Saps ballistics expert faces fresh charge over alleged 2018 evidence tampering

Captain Laurance Makgotloe appears at Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on 2 June 2026. Picture: Gallo Images/Frennie Shivambu A South African Police Service (Saps) captain accused of sabotaging a murder investigation is facing an uphill battle, as his bail hearing was delayed to allow for new charges to be incorporated. Captain Laurance Makgotloe briefly appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, 2 June 2026, following his recentarrestlinked to the killing of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart.

Swart, a former employee of Q Tech Engineering, was shot dead outside his workplace on 17 April 2024 in what is believed to have been a case of mistaken identity. Despite the recovery of key exhibits – including anAK-47 rifle and three pistols– it is claimed that Makgotloe deliberately produced flawed forensic results in his ballistics report to derail the investigation into Swart’s killing. Theseallegations were previously raisedbefore the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.

The ballistics expert – who is attached to the police’s forensic science laboratory – now faceschargesincluding defeating the ends of justice, possession of unlicensed ammunition, and two counts of being an accessory after the fact to murder. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) confirmed that the matter has been postponed to 4 June to allow for a formal bail application. According to NPA Gauteng North regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana, the delay was requested by the defence following the addition of another charge of accessory after the fact to murder.

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“So currently, the accused is facing two counts of accessory after the fact to murder and possession of ammunition,” she said. Mahanjana revealed that the additional charge is linked to a separate 2018 murder case in which Makgotloe is also accused of manipulating forensic evidence. “He produced results which he knew that he would not stand in court.”

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