Security company boss arrested after Hawks operation uncovers unlicenced firearms
Security company director Makopole Jones Mathunyane appeared in the Moutse Magistrate’s Court on charges of possessing unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
Image: Hawks
A security company director has appeared in the Moutse Magistrate’s Court in Limpopo after he was allegedly found with unlicensed firearms and ammunition during a police operation in Dennilton.
Makopole Jones Mathunyane, 49, was arrested on 2 December at Motsia Mall by the Hawks’ Polokwane-based Serious Organised Crime Investigation unit, working jointly with the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) and the SAPS Limpopo provincial flash unit.
Hawks provincial spokesperson Warrant Officer Lethunya Mmuroa said the arrest followed information received about a security company suspected of operating with unlicensed firearms.
“Members seized two rifles, a pump gun and ammunition during the operation,” Mmuroa said.
Mathunyane appeared in court on Wednesday, and the matter was postponed to 8 December for a bail application. Police said investigations are ongoing.
Security company director Makopole Jones Mathunyane, 49, who appeared in the Moutse Magistrate’s Court on charges of possessing unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
Image: Hawks
On Wednesday, IOL reported that two men alleged to be linked to suspected crime kingpin Katiso “KT” Molefe were arrested outside the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court after police found them carrying two semi-automatic AKM rifles and ammunition without valid permits.
SAPS national spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe confirmed that the suspects, aged 24 and 36, were acting as bodyguards for an accused person appearing in court that day. While police have not identified the specific individual they were escorting, sources told IOL the men form part of Molefe’s security team. Molefe himself was in court as the State worked to consolidate several high-profile murder, conspiracy, and firearms cases against him.
According to police, officers conducting operations outside the court searched the suspects’ vehicle and discovered the rifles and ammunition. The car was seized after officers determined that its licence disc did not match the registration plates displayed.
Investigations are ongoing into the origins of the firearms, the vehicle’s status, and the exact role of the two men at court.
Molefe, arrested in July during a SAPS Political Killings Task Team operation, has been linked to multiple murder and attempted murder cases across Gauteng — including the 2022 killing of musician Oupa “DJ Sumbody” Sefoka. The State is moving to centralise several dockets against him in the Johannesburg High Court.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
IOL News