The Madlanga commission of inquiry was told on Tuesday the AK-47 rifle used in the murder of engineer Armand Swart was also used in the shootings of musicians DJ Sumbody, DJ Vintos and Don Tindleni.
Capt Solomon Modisane, senior forensic analyst (ballistics) at the SAPS forensic science laboratory in Silverton, Pretoria, said cartridge cases retrieved from “the Sandton and Orlando murder scenes” matched those from the rifle seized in the “Bramley case”.
Two suspects in the Swart shooting investigation, including police detective Michael Pule Tau, were arrested in Bramley, Johannesburg, in April last year soon after the murder in Vereeniging. They were allegedly found in possession of three 9mm pistols and an assault rifle.
The Sandton case related to the murder of DJ Sumbody, while the Orlando cases were those of DJ Vintos and DJ Don Tindleni.Modisane told the commission he was called in from KwaZulu-Natal’s political killings task team on December 20 to compare ballistic evidence from the four cases.
On the same day he received the request, Modisane checked the SAPS forensic science laboratory system and noticed the Bramley case appeared twice, once in Pretoria and once in Amanzimtoti, KwaZulu-Natal.“I established the same firearms initially examined in Silverton were the same firearms examined in KwaZulu-Natal according to the system,” he said.
Modisane told the commission he found it “bizarre” that the same case was handled by two separate laboratories and later learned investigating officers had requested a re-examination in KwaZulu-Natal by an independent analyst after citing irregularities in the initial Pretoria tests.
He said he received two evidence bags containing cartridge cases and bullets from the Sandton, Orlando and Bramley crime scenes.
He said his task was to compare cartridge cases rather than conduct a full re-examination.
His analysis showed the cartridge cases from the Sandton and Orlando scenes were fired from the same AK-47 rifle recovered from the Bramley suspects.
“All the exhibits were fired from the same firearm, an AK-47. That firearm murdered DJ Sumbody, DJ Vintos and Don Tindleni.”
He explained the processes they use to retrieve a serial number from a firearm on which it has been obliterated.
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