Hearing record

Day 128

29 June 2026

Day 128, 29 June 2026. Businessman Itumeleng 'Tumelo' Nku resumed his testimony on the 2021 Aeroton cocaine bust with a substantially changed account after a weekend postponement to file a supplementary statement. He told the commission a 'hard chat' with his spiritual leader, who urged him to be honest, had prompted his return, and now described the operation as part of a 'broader business scheme': he said former deputy defence minister Kebby Maphatsoe, a 'distant relative', had introduced him in 2021 to a man known as 'Alpha', and that arranging the roughly R300 million bust had actually prevented a turf war by stopping the consignment reaching a rival trafficker. He also suggested Gauteng traffic chief Samuel Mashaba may have wanted to 'take' the cocaine. Chairperson Mbuyiseli Madlanga expressed frustration that, even with the extra time, Nku had still not 'come clean'. Forensic investigator Paul O'Sullivan was also at the commission to testify as it wrapped up the Aeroton drug-bust probe. All allegations are untested; everyone named is presumed innocent.