Pretoria – Retired Hawks head Lieutenant-General Godfrey Lebeya has told the Madlanga Commission that private investigator Paul O’Sullivan once asked him for an update on the Hawks’ investigation into the controversial Phala Phala matter.
Lebeya testified on Thursday that O’Sullivan contacted him in 2023 or 2024 seeking information about the progress of the investigation.
According to Lebeya, O’Sullivan said he was with his friend, Dr Bejani Chauke, who was an adviser to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The former Hawks boss was questioned about the interaction by evidence leader Advocate Lee Segeels-Ncube.
Lebeya said he refused to provide O’Sullivan with information about the investigation because he did not understand why the private investigator was requesting details about a matter being handled by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI).
“He said that he is sitting here with his friend who is a doctor, and then I just need progress of the status of the case,” Lebeya told the commission.
Lebeya said O’Sullivan did not explain in what capacity he was seeking the information.
He said the fact that O’Sullivan mentioned he was with Chauke did not change his position.
“I can’t report to any other person about progress of matters in the DPCI,” Lebeya said.
⚖️ MADLANGA COMMISSION | Lebeya on O’Sullivan
Lt Gen Godfrey Lebeya told the Commission that Paul O’Sullivan contacted him seeking a progress update on the Phala Phala matter.Lebeya said O’Sullivan told him he was with his friend, Dr Benjani Chauke, but he refused to provide… pic.twitter.com/OG16ryyDXf
— Ngada Attorneys (@attorneysngada) August 27, 2026
When asked whether O’Sullivan had identified the person he was with, Lebeya said he had.
“He said that he is sitting with Dr Bejani Chauke, his friend,” he testified.
The commission also questioned Lebeya about his relationship with O’Sullivan.
Lebeya said he had known the private investigator since around 2001, when O’Sullivan was involved in cases against then-national police commissioner General Bheki Cele.
At the time, Lebeya was in charge of detective services in Gauteng and was involved in appointing investigators to look into the complaints.
He recalled visiting O’Sullivan’s office during one of the investigations.
Lebeya said their interactions continued over the years, with O’Sullivan sometimes providing information to police and, in other cases, acting as a complainant.
“He does report matters. In some of the matters, he’s the complainant, where we have even effected arrest when we didn’t have a complainant,” Lebeya said.
He described their relationship as cordial until the disagreement over the Phala Phala investigation.
Lebeya said O’Sullivan later withdrew a case after the Hawks responded to him and pointed out that a legal provision he had relied on had been deleted by the Constitutional Court.
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Compiled by Glaan Sibuyi
