Six soldiers charged with the August 2023 murder of Hawks detective Lieutenant Colonel Frans Mathipa did not violate their bail conditions, the Randburg Magistrate’s Court ruled.
Frennie Shivambu/Gallo Images
- The Randburg Magistrate’s Court has ruled that six soldiers charged with the August 2023 murder of Hawks detective Lieutenant Colonel Frans Mathipa did not violate their bail conditions.
- In the case, the accused said they were advised that compliance with the bail conditions was suspended pending an appeal and that they did not intend to defy their bail conditions.
- Warrants were issued for the other six soldiers in the matter who remain at large after their bail was revoked for ignoring an order to surrender. The military police offered no help in tracing them.
Brigadier General Solomon Lechoenyo, the recently appointed head of the South African National Defence Force’s (SANDF) Special Forces, will remain out on bail after the Randburg Magistrate’s Court ruled that he and five co-accused did not violate their bail conditions.
Lechoenyo – who was promoted to command the elite unit earlier this year – had faced the prospect of having his bail revoked alongside Edward Albert van Deventer, Herbert Mashego, Jacob Mokoena, Richard Mpoetsi and Olyn Lenardus.
Lechoenyo and his co-accused are among 12 SANDF Special Forces soldiers charged with the August 2023 murder of Hawks detective Lieutenant Colonel Frans Mathipa, who was investigating the kidnapping of two Ethiopian nationals at the time of his murder.
The State argued that the six soldiers failed to comply with bail reporting conditions imposed by the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on 16 January and sought to have their bail revoked.
However, on Monday, Magistrate Hleziphi Mkhasibe found that while the accused did not immediately make arrangements to report to their nearest police stations in line with the High Court order, their conduct did not justify the drastic step of revoking their bail.
The court ruled that they were ultimately compliant with their bail conditions and ordered that their bail be extended.
READ | From general to dock: Mathipa murder-accused Special Forces chief’s bail hangs in balance
Monday’s ruling means Lechoenyo – now the country’s top Special Forces commander – and his co-accused will remain out on bail while they await trial.
In opposing the continuation of bail, the State relied on evidence from Hawks investigator Colonel Gert Serfontein, who testified that the High Court order required the accused to report to their nearest police stations every Tuesday and Friday, report directly to him, and surrender all their travel documents.
Serfontein said the order further required the accused to inform him of the police station they intended to report to, so that he could open a bail file and liaise with the relevant station. Without that coordination, he told the court, compliance could not be properly monitored.
During questioning by State advocate Riana Williams, Serfontein said the first reporting date after 16 January was Tuesday, 20 January. None of the six reported on that day. They also failed to report on the next scheduled date, which was 23 January.
The first contact from the accused came on 23 January, when they were instructed to report to his office with their travel documents so that reporting arrangements could be formalised, he testified.
The defence sought to justify the delay by referring to correspondence dated 20 January in which Lechoenyo and the other accused invoked Section 18 of the Superior Courts Act, arguing that the High Court order was suspended, pending an application for leave to appeal.
READ | Six SANDF soldiers fail to surrender after bail denied in Mathipa murder case
Serfontein said he was aware of the letter but emphasised that he could only act on a valid court order.
Williams put on record a response from the National Prosecuting Authority, dated 21 January, which rejected the defence’s interpretation.
The NPA maintained that Section 18 did not apply to criminal appeals under the Criminal Procedure Act and that the High Court order remained binding.
Serfontein told the court that four of the accused eventually reported to his office on 27 January — more than a week after the first reporting date.
“Four of the accused reported at my office on the 27th of January. They explained to me that they were out of the province and would come and report the next day,” he said.
By then, he had opened a bail file and had begun liaising with the police stations identified by the accused.
The State maintained that the delay constituted a serious breach warranting revocation. But the defence, through advocate Simon Mangolele, read into the record an affidavit by Lechoenyo, in which he confirmed his promotion to brigadier general and his appointment as General Officer Commanding Special Forces, with effect from 1 January.
In the affidavit, Lechoenyo said the initial non-compliance was not wilful but arose from uncertainty about the wording and immediate effect of the High Court order.
He stated:
I became aware of the court order on 17 January 2026. I was advised by our legal representatives that leave to appeal the judgment of Karam AJ would be filed.
He argued that it was unclear whether the accused were required to comply immediately and said the order was ambiguous regarding the surrender of passports.
“The court order was not clear in respect of how and to whom the passports were to be handed. Some of the accused went to different police stations, and they were advised that such stations had no knowledge of them,” he said.
Lechoenyo added that on 26 January, the SANDF attorneys wrote to Serfontein seeking clarity on reporting procedures, after which the investigating officer instructed the accused to report to his office so that proper arrangements could be made.
In contrast, Serfontein testified that six other accused soldiers — Dawid Mogaditswe, Kgosietsile Letsatsi, Samkelo Ngwenya, Boitumelo Nteleza, Paulos Matlou and Sunnybooi Wambi — whose bail was revoked, had still not been located and were regarded as fugitives.
“We have not been able to locate them, although warrants of arrest have been issued. We spoke to the military police and asked for assistance in apprehending the suspects, but they told us they could not do anything to help,” he said.
Those six were ordered to surrender to their nearest police stations by 23 January but failed to do so, prompting the issuing of warrants for their arrest.
The six who appeared in court wore face masks covering their features. After judgment was delivered, they appeared visibly relieved, embracing one another and congratulating their legal team.
