By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
23 June 2025- The Democratic Alliance (DA) said it demands the urgent release of the hidden Moorhouse Report. The DA said this comes after twelve South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members were arrested for a top investigator’s assassination.
DA spokesperson on Defence & Military Veterans and a Member of Parliament (MP), Chris Hattingh said the report exposes rogue SANDF networks tied to torture, smuggling, and killings. Hattingh said they call for the immediate release of the Moorhouse Report, which the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) continues to conceal from Parliament and the public.
“This follows the arrest of 12 SANDF members in connection with the 2023 assassination of Hawks investigator Lieutenant Colonel Frans Mathipa. The arrests have intensified pressure for transparency, particularly regarding the report’s alleged findings on illegal SANDF activities.
“The Moorhouse Board of Inquiry was reportedly established after whistle-blower, Thulane Ndawo, a former Military Police officer, exposed illegal detentions, torture, and unauthorised operations in 2021,” he said.
Hattingh further said the report is believed to contain explosive details of rogue SANDF activity, including the 2019 theft of military rifles, the use of front companies and involvement in politically motivated killings. He added that, in November 2023, the DA submitted a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application to obtain the report.
“However, this request remains unanswered. Civil society organisation Open Secrets has also escalated the matter to the United Nations, underscoring the seriousness of the allegations.
“Mathipa, assassinated on the N1 in July 2023, had been investigating a 2022 kidnapping linked to military vehicles and the secret offloading of cargo from the Russian vessel Lady R at the Simon’s Town naval base,” said Hattingh.
He said Mathipa had just obtained a court order compelling the SANDF to release critical documents when he was killed. Hattingh said these developments point to the existence of a rogue network within the SANDF operating outside of lawful command structures, involved in kidnappings, arms smuggling, and assassinations.
“We demand the immediate, unredacted release of the Moorhouse Report, a list of implicated individuals and steps toward prosecution. We demand the disclosure of SANDF-linked front companies and a plan to dismantle rogue operations within the military.
“The truth must be exposed and those responsible must face justice,” he said.
The Guardian 