AK-47 linked to the killings of engineer Swart and DJs Sumbody and Vintos

AK-47 linked to the killings of engineer Swart and DJs Sumbody and Vintos Zandile.Khumalo Wed, 10/29/2025 - 06:00 PRETORIA -Police forensics analyst Solomon Modisane says he was the first person to conduct a comparative examination of the guns seized from suspects in the murder of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart in April 2024.The weapons have been linked to other murders, including that of DJ Sumbody as well as the murders of DJ Vintos and Don Tindleni in Orlando, Soweto.This was revealed before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.“I found that these cartridge cases were fired from the same firearm. So they bear the same common origin. This specific firearm that I am referring to is a 7.62x39mm Russian Kalashnikov model AK-47, a full-automatic assault rifle. “That AK-47 is the same AK-47 that was found with the suspects who were arrested in the Bramley case. This is the same firearm that murdered DJ Sumbody, DJ Vintos, and Don Tindleni,” Modisane said. He explained that analysts had to conduct a microscopic examination of fired cartridges, cases and fired bullets“As ballistics experts, when we re doing a comparison, we compare the individual and class characteristics. It s the markings transferred by the firearm components onto the cartridge cases and onto the bullets during the firing process.READ| Senior forensic ballistics analysts testify at the Madlanga Commission“So there will be those characteristics that we are looking for on each and every specimen under the microscope to determine the common origin of these specimens. The microscope assists us in viewing those tiny marks that the naked eye cannot see,” he explained.In his testimony, Modisane also flagged irregularities involving duplicate entries of the same case in the national Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) database.He said that when he checked the system in December 2024, he discovered that the Bramley case appeared twice — one entry in Pretoria and another in KwaZulu-Natal.“It was bizarre that this case was examined in Pretoria and then again in KZN. Warrant Officer Keita advised me that the investigating officers (IOs) of the Bramley matter presented a letter signed by Major General Mbuso Khumalo requesting that the firearms in the team s possession be re-examined at Amanzimtoti FSL Ballistics by an independent analyst.“So he said that the IOs were citing some irregularities in the initial tests conducted by FSL Pretoria. So the request was discussed, apparently, with the management of the lab in Pretoria. Following the approval, the examination was conducted in KZN,” he said.

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