Meet the rogue soldiers who allegedly killed top cop, kidnapped ISIS bosses

A dozen former and current South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members are, as we speak, in police custody in connection with the murder of a senior Hawks detective. In 2023, Lieutenant Colonel Ngwako Frans Mathipa was shot and killed near Hammanskraal Toll Plaza. Mathipa was tasked with investigating an alleged abduction involving SANDF members as suspects. It’s alleged these elite soldiers, so-called “Recces”, kidnapped two prominent local Islamic State members from the Mall of Africa in 2022. The two are still missing and are now presumed dead. News24 journalists Bernadette Wicks and Tankiso Makhetha join us on The Lead to piece together this intriguing puzzle. Later in the show, host Graeme Raubenheimer looks into how Johannesburg has settled its massive Eskom debt to keep the lights on. Finally, former Cabinet minister Malusi Gigaba temporarily halts the broadcasting of a tell-all Showmax episode about the intimate details of his personal life. You can now send a short voice note of 15 to 20 seconds with your questions or thoughts on this episode to our official The Lead WhatsApp line, that’s: +27 72 562 3179. Mail your comments to thelead@24.com. Editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.