Brigadier Mishak Mkhabela, the national head of the SAPS ballistics section, has dismissed claims that errors in a key ballistic report were the result of sabotage. Testifying before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, Mkhabela said the mistakes were due to “human error,” not intentional interference.
The case involves the murder investigation of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart, where inconsistencies in the ballistic findings raised concerns about possible tampering. Mkhabela explained that a forensic analyst had accidentally cross-referenced bullet and cartridge evidence in the wrong sections of an affidavit, creating confusion in the official report.
He said the analyst’s working notes showed that the comparison was done correctly but that the results were copied incorrectly when compiling the affidavit. Both the analyst and the reviewer initially overlooked the mistake, prompting an internal probe.
The report was later corrected and reissued to accurately reference the 15 cartridge cases involved.
During questioning, advocate Matthew Chaskalson asked whether the mix-up could have been a deliberate act to disrupt the prosecution, but Mkhabela rejected the idea. He said the evidence linked bullets and cartridge cases from the Vereeniging scene to firearms seized from the suspects — information that actually strengthened the state’s case.
“If this was sabotage, then it was done very badly,” Mkhabela said. “The findings supported the investigation rather than harmed it.”