Madlanga Commission | New witness to take the stand

Added: 2026-05-14

[00:00:00]Now, a former member of the SAP's directorate of priority crime investigation, uh, retired Lieutenant Colonel Yakubas Princloo is expected to take the stand at the Madanga Commission this morning. Now, he'll be testifying about the theft of drugs from the Hawk's premises in Port Shepston in Quazulu Natal. For more on this and what to expect further today, we joined by SBC News reporter Kenny Mapanga. Kenny, good morning. So let's pick up where we left it off in the N in the previous hour and obviously focusing on that facility in Port Shepston where these drugs went missing.

[00:00:40]>> Indeed. Uh good morning to you Sakina and to the viewers once again. But I think where we can start is what is expected first uh from the testimony this morning which is this issue of now the witness that we'll know we'll know as witness H that will appear uh before the commission tomorrow. The only question that's left hanging in the air is whether or not that will happen in camera as the witness hopes it will be or will there be opposition to this particular request. We understand from the commission spokesperson yesterday that the media houses that seemingly had an issue with this blanket in camera process before the Mlang commission and challenged it which led to this process of having a 72-hour notice before you make a decision. Those media houses concerned seem to not have an issue with the request of now witness H who is expected to delve deeper into this issue of the portf facility because they are the ones that actually have the criminal docket on the ongoing investigation. So they're actually going to give the Mlang commission the full details the full scope of the kind of grim picture that uh you may be looking at in terms of what took place at the Port Shepson facility. Now, because it's an ongoing investigation, the evidence leaders have moved for that inc camera bid, stating that if they were to do it in a public format, that could jeopardize the ongoing investigations, also given insight into police methods, which uh future suspects, if we could put it that way, could use to their advantage. So, we expect that at 9:30 a.m. that issue will be taken care of first. But because we understand that from yesterday the media houses made it clear or the ones concerned in this regard made it clear that they have no intention to impose this bid you can expect that witness H will sit tomorrow and give all of those interesting details tomorrow in camera that is subject to a ruling by the chairperson. Now after that process takes place we'll then go back to Prince Lou who will then give us further details regarding the Port Shepston facility incident in June of 2021. the kind of procedural flaws that followed this breach at that facility, the transfer of those 200 million rands worth of drugs to Ispingo uh to the Port Shepson facility under uh something that has been described as something that is strange and of course was by design. So we expect more of those details of alleged corruption within the drug bus sector, if I could put it that way, at 9:30 a.m. this morning.