Madlanga Commission: KZN cops ignored warnings about an assassination plot targeting Sindiso Magaqa

The death of former ANC youth league secretary Sindiso Magaqa who was shot dead in July 2017 could have been prevented if SAPS Crime Intelligence officials in KwaZulu-Natal had acted on warnings of a plot to assassinate him.

This was according to a chilling testimony by Witness E, an undercover operative linked to SAPS in KwaZulu-Natal, who testified virtually at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Monday.

He told the commission that the hired hitmen had confided in him, revealing their strategy to take out Magaqa, including plans to bribe senior officials at Crime Intelligence Unit for assistance.

According to him, the same hitmen also divulged to him the identity of the person who ordered the hit.

He was disclosing the information he shared with Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, who reached out to him in December 2024 to inquire about the circumstances around Magaqa's death.

Witness E, who has been on a witness programme since 2019, said he was "shocked and also excited" to receive a call from the minister in 2024 because "only few people have my number". 

The witness said he acquired a new phone number before entering witness protection in 2019, adding it is a restricted number.

"The minister said to me that he heard a lot about me and that I have information about the death of Sindiso Magaqa," he said.

He said at Mchunu's request he shared details about Magaqa’s killing, revealing the roles of police officers involved in the assassination.

Witness E said: "I felt free to share information with him because he was the police minister at the time," adding that when Mchunu talked to him he sounded like someone "with information and just wanted a confirmation from me".

According to him, he told the minister that he discovered the plan to assassinate Magaqa in July 2017. 

"After hearing about the assassination plot I informed my superiors. I also proposed some steps to prevent the murder or save Magaqa's life. They didn't want to listen to me," he said.

He said he was told by the 'ones who pulled the trigger' that they had two weeks to kill Magaqa, adding that one of the killers is late and used to be an SAPS informant handled by the Crime Intelligence Unit.

Judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga, chairing the commission, questioned the seriousness of Witness E in preventing Magaqa's killing.

He wanted to know from Witness E why he reported the assassination plot to the same superiors he was told will be asked to assist the hitmen.

Witness E insisted that he was serious about wanting to prevent the murder, explaining that "when I got the information I reported to those people who were going to assist but those people at the time they didn't know that they would be asked to assist".

"I got the information on the killing of Magaqa on Sunday, July 2, 2017. I got it from an informer who was hired to kill Magaqa. He then told me that he was going to ask the captain and the colonel to assist them in such a way that when they go to Umzimkhulu and come back from Umzimkhulu they get protection," he said.

He testified that the hitmen hired to kill Magaqa revealed the equipment used in the killing, including a firearm and a car, were provided by senior police officials.

He alerted a captain and colonel at the crime intelligence unit about the assassination plot against Magaqa, urging them to intervene and stop the hit, but he was ignored. 

"I also called the colonel and I asked the colonel 'Can we take away the car and an AK-47 that we bought for the informer and keep it to ourselves?' We will give this equipment to an informer later on because in the next week they are going to kill Mr Magaqa," he said.

rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za