South Africa: The Cop Who Allegedly Buried the Bullets - Forensic Analyst Faces Second Tampering Charge

2 June 2026
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
By Vincent Cruywagen

Captain Laurence Makgotloe, a SAPS forensic analyst facing charges for allegedly tampering with crucial ballistic evidence in the April 2024 murder of engineer Armand Swart, is now under renewed scrutiny amid claims that he had previously manipulated forensic evidence.

On Tuesday, 2 June, Captain Laurence Makgotloe's bail proceedings in the Pretoria Magistrates' Court took a turn when the State revealed it intended to present evidence suggesting that he had allegedly committed a similar offence in 2018.

Details about the 2018 incident are as yet unclear, but the State has indicated that they would be brought up during Makgotloe's bail application, which is scheduled to be heard on Thursday, 4 June.

The court was told that Makgotloe had allegedly been in unlawful possession of 38 rounds of ammunition when members of the Madlanga Commission Task Team, a SAPS unit, arrested him at his Pretoria home on Friday, 22 May.

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Makgotloe's arrest stems from evidence heard before the Madlanga Commission that related to alleged tampering with ballistic evidence linked to the April 2024 murder of Q-Tech engineer Armand Swart.

FOR CONTEXT SAPS forensic analyst's bail bid looms amid serious evidence tampering accusations May 31, 2026 On Tuesday, prosecutors handed the court an amended charge sheet containing two counts of accessory after the fact to murder, and a charge relating to the unlawful possession of ammunition.

The revised charge sheet was served on the defence shortly before proceedings began,...

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