South Africa: Unravelling the Mystery - - Chris Hani Investigator Accused of Covering Up Simelane Murder

By Marianne Thamm

Boksburg Murder and Robbery Unit detective, the late Mike Holmes, hailed for solving the 1993 assassination of South African Communist Party head, Chris Hani, conspired to cover-up the kidnapping and murder of activist Nokuthula Simelane, the Khampepe Inquiry has heard.

Andrew Leask, one of the first investigating officers to assist the Directorate of Special Operations (the Scorpions) with TRC probes, spent years trying to piece together who was responsible for the kidnapping and murder of student and covert ANC courier, Nokuthula Simelane in 1983.

And while his investigations were conducted more than 22 years ago and came to nothing, Leask's memory of the atrocity and those implicated remains clear. He began investigating the matter in 1996, and was later instructed in 2011 to hand over the comprehensive docket to none other than Captain Mike Holmes.

Gunning for ANC leadership

On Wednesday, 25 January 2026 at the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry into TRC prosecutions delays, the investigator also set out how former SAPS Commissioner Johan van der Merwe had contacted him in 2004 wanting to offer "an opportunity to make available information or evidence that could assist in establishing a criminal case against the leadership of the ANC".

Van Der Merwe and a Mr Wagenaar, legal representative of the implicated generals and former senior apartheid SAPS officials, had told Leask that documents and statements had been obtained and that Wagenaar was working on these. However, Leask was never contacted again...

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