‘Either Senona is lying or you are’: Lebeya grilled over R200m cocaine | Madlanga Commission
Former Hawks head Godfrey Lebeya testified before the Madlanga Commission regarding the theft of 541kg of cocaine from a police facility. His testimony contradicted that of his former subordinate, Lesetja Senona, regarding security arrangements.
Why it matters
The inquiry highlights systemic security failures and potential corruption within South African law enforcement agencies.
Ask AI 1 min South Africa - Pretoria - 01 September 2026 - Former National Head of the National Directorate for Priority Crimes (DPCI/Hawks), Lieutenant-General Seswantsho Godfrey Lebeya, appeared before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
Retired Hawks head Godfrey Lebeya has contradicted former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks boss Lesetja Senona over the handling of 541kg of drugs, saying he only learned that the Port Shepstone storage facility had been broken into after the drugs were stolen.
Lebeya told the Madlanga Commission on Tuesday that he was unaware that Senona had been given the key, including spare keys, to the facility where the seized drugs were stored.
His evidence directly conflicts with Senona’s earlier testimony that he had informed Lebeya about the decision to move the drugs to the Hawks facility in Port Shepstone.
Evidence leader Advocate Lee Segeels-Ncube confronted Lebeya with the two conflicting versions.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in