Ermelo — What began as a hopeful Wednesday on 30 October 2024 for forklift operator Mandla Molefe (37) turned into a nightmare of alleged police brutality and wrongful arrest after he was accused of killing his manager.

Molefe, who works at Oram Industrial in Ermelo, was on the brink of a career breakthrough after being told he had outperformed all candidates for a supervisor position.

Management, he recalls, would form a team that will independently choose the supervisor from the commended candidates. “I asked my manager why they needed a team to decide when HR handled the process ethically. We argued a bit, but I decided to let it go and take it as a learning curve,” Molefe said.

Work squabbles — or petty politics— dissolved and the day’s lot went on. When he arrived home around 19h00, he and his family were startled by gunshots nearby.

When he reached the scene, his heart dropped.

It was his manager, Doctor Shabalala and his friend Xolani Nkambule. “I saw the car and recognised it immediately,” he says.

Two days later, on 01 November 2024, Molefe was arrested. “Two CID police officers, in plain clothes, came to my workplace around 11h00 and asked if I owned a gun. I said yes, it’s licensed and kept at home. Then they said I was under arrest for killing Shabalala and Nkambule,” he said.

Molefe said officers at Ermelo Police Station confiscated his phone and demanded the location of his gun and license. He says he directed them to his safe at home, but instead of following procedure, the officers allegedly began assaulting him.

“One officer named M.L Mkhwanazi taped my eyes shut with sellotape and started kicking and beating me, shouting that I killed those people,” Molefe said. “They covered my face with a plastic bag written POLICE and suffocated me. I thought I was going to die.”

He said four officers took turns punching and kicking him, going as far as hitting him with a fire extinguisher that injured his right hand permanently. “They said I killed their relative, Shabalala, and that they’d kill me too. I was bleeding from my mouth, barely breathing. They only stopped when they saw I was losing too much blood.”

Molefe said he was later thrown into a cold holding cell. The next morning, a prison warden noticed his worsening condition. “He gave me painkillers. I’ll never forget him. He was God-sent,” he said, adding that his wife denied seeing him while in the cells.

Neighbour Sanele Sithole, who witnessed the shooting, insists Molefe could not have been involved. “We were the first people to arrive at the scene, ” Sithole said one of the victims was still breathing when they got there, but died before the ambulance arrived.

“I was about 20 metres away when I heard the shots. The fire rounds were about 12 in total. From where I stood, I saw two suspects running back to their car, which was about 100 metres away. They were wearing hoodies, so I couldn’t see their faces. But I know Mandla very well. If it was him, I’d have recognised him instantly. It wasn’t him.”

Sithole said Molefe also arrived moments later looking shocked. “ He asked what happened. When he saw the car, he said he knew the people who were shot and were his colleagues from Oram. We then called the police and the ambulance.”

Sithole says he was stunned when he later heard Molefe had been arrested for the murders. “The police didn’t even take statements from witnesses. If they had spoken to the people who were first there, they would have known that Mandla was not involved. He was as shocked as we were,” Sithole said

On 03 November 2024, around 18h00, officer Mkhwanazi came to his cell again. “He asked me again if I killed them. I said no. He then took my saliva for DNA and made me fill out documents. When a senior police officer came on duty, Mkhwanazi suddenly said he was releasing me. I think he didn’t want the principal to find me there because I was arrested illegally.”

With no explanation and without having seen a magistrate, Molefe was released that Sunday night. “I had no transport or phone. I asked Mkhwanazi to take me home, and he said, ‘Even if I take you home, you’re still going to die.’ I waited outside, but he disappeared. I had to walk for three hours alone in the dark.”

When Molefe arrived home, his family told him Mkhwanazi had allegedly returned but this time to threaten them. “He said he’d kill everyone in my family because I killed those two men,” claimed Molefe.

Despite his injuries, Molefe returned to work the next day. What stood between him and his determination was an unbearable pain. “I asked for leave but HR refused. My managers intervened and forced them to give me off days so I could see a doctor.”

His right hand has not fully recovered. “I can’t hold heavy things anymore. It affects my work and my ability to provide for my family,” he. said.

After his release, Molefe repeatedly visited the police station to ask about his case. It was later that one of Oram’s part-time staff members by the name of Tower apparently disclosed that he was ordered to kill those people but hired hitmen instead.

Molefe claims he was told the real suspects were still being sought in Daveyton. “When I told him he arrested the wrong person, he became defensive, saying there’s no way I fought with the manager that day and later he was killed near my house,” said Molefe.

Nearly a year later, no arrests have been made. Molefe has never appeared in court, and the police have not returned his licensed firearm.

Today, Molefe lives with both physical and emotional scars. His psychologist’s report that Highveld Chronicle has seen confirms that he suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and requires ongoing psychotherapy and occupational therapy.

“I lost weight and I isolate myself because people in the community look at me like I’m a murderer,” he says. “I just want my name cleared and I want the families of the deceased to find closure.”

Molefe said he has approached a legal team and intends to sue the state for wrongful arrest, assault and psychological trauma.

Ermelo Police spokesperson, Sergeant Carla Prinsloo, confirmed that Molefe has been cleared of all charges. “He was arrested as a suspect, but following the investigation, there was nothing connecting him to the case. No further case against him was pursued,” she said.

Prinsloo said the docket has since been transferred to the Gert Sibande District Office under the Special Investigation Team for Violent Crimes. She described allegations of the assault as “unsubstantiated allegations” but added Molefe may lay a complaint if he provides evidence.

[Highveld Chronicle credits]Highveld Chronicle produced this story in partnership with Khanyisa Media. Visit Khanyisa Media at https://khanyisamedia.co.za/