Judge denies R2.5 million bribe allegations in Molefe bail case

Acting Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba has denied claims that he took part in a R2.5 million bribe scheme tied to Katiso “KT” Molefe’s bail, saying he did not take any money, did not know Molefe and had never met him.

The allegation did not come from the bench itself, but from testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System. On 21 October 2025, Witness A said an informer told him R2.5 million was earmarked to secure Molefe’s bail, though the witness said he did not know whether the money was meant for Ledwaba or for the prosecutor. Two days later, the Judiciary said it noted the evidence with deep concern and pointed to the Judicial Service Commission’s constitutional power to investigate judicial misconduct.

This is not a routine bail row. Court records show Molefe faces four counts of murder and four counts of conspiracy to commit murder, linked to the deaths of Oupa John Mmanthoko Sefoka, Sibusiso Walter Mkoena, Sandile Shawn Myeza and Hector Buthelezi. He was arrested on 6 December 2024 in connection with the murder probe, and Ledwaba heard his bail appeal in the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria.

On 27 June 2025, Ledwaba granted Molefe bail of R100,000. The conditions were strict: Molefe had to report to police twice a week, stay in Gauteng unless permission was given to leave, and avoid contact with state witnesses. He was released on bail on 30 June 2025, but a later judgment records that he was back before court after a second arrest on 21 July 2025.

The commission’s wider evidence has only intensified the distrust around the matter. Witness A said a caller warned him after the arrest, “Do you know the person you’ve arrested is the person of the generals?” The commission also heard that Brigadier Mbangwa Nkhwashu allegedly visited Molefe in Pretoria Central while he was in custody, and it ordered Witnesses A, B and C from the Gauteng Organised Crime Unit to testify remotely because of safety concerns.

By April 2026, the bail decision had become part of Ledwaba’s own judicial spotlight. During Judicial Service Commission interviews, panel members reportedly raised objections over the Molefe matter, with six objections filed and two already dismissed. Ledwaba said he dealt with the bail application in the ordinary course of his duties and argued the division needed leadership. In a case already shadowed by allegations of political interference and police links, the bribery claim has pushed the question beyond one judge’s denial and into the credibility of the prosecution itself.