The arrest of Katiso ‘KT’ Molefe, the suspected mastermind behind the November 2022 murder of popular South African DJ Oupa John Sefoka, also known as DJ Sumbody, has taken an unexpected political turn because of the involvement of Kenny Kunene, the deputy president of the Patriotic Alliance (PA) and member of Johannesburg’s MMC for Transport.
On July 21, 2025, Kunene was discovered at Molefe’s opulent Sandton home when police arrived to take Molefe into custody in relation to the shooting death that also left a second person dead and a third injured. Although Kunene acknowledged being at the house, he maintained that his only reason for being there was to go with a journalist from his online media company to speak with the suspect, who had not yet been put on trial. Molefe is not a friend or business associate, he emphasised, and his job was to provide journalistic access for a young reporter who wanted an exclusive on the well-known murder case. Kunene claims that the police abruptly ended the visit with a dramatic arrest before the interview had even started.
However, this explanation has drawn harsh criticism and scepticism, especially from the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA). Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku, the leader of the DA’s Johannesburg caucus, called Kunene’s presence “damning” and demanded his immediate resignation, calling his justification “laughable” and highlighting how untenable it is for Kunene to hold public office while connected to suspected criminal activity. Additionally, the DA urged Mayor Dada Morero to act decisively in the event that Kunene declined to step down.
The repercussions have been immediate within Kunene’s own party, the Patriotic Alliance. For 30 days while a formal investigation is conducted, party leader Gayton McKenzie suspended Kunene from both his MMC position and party political activities. In light of the ongoing investigation, McKenzie said the decision was very tough but essential to upholding accountability and the party’s integrity.
The circumstances surrounding Kunene are situated at the crossroads of South Africa’s convoluted political system, where claims of political figures’ ties to criminal elements have regularly surfaced. According to some analysts, the DJ Sumbody murder case has revealed a larger network involving politics, power, and controversial individuals, and this episode has increased public mistrust of political leadership. The fact that Kunene insists he was only in the “wrong place at the wrong time” highlights the fine line politicians must walk when interacting with suspects or divisive figures in the public eye.
This incident raises broader questions:
- What protocols should elected officials observe when interacting with persons implicated in serious criminal investigations?
- How will this development influence public confidence in the Patriotic Alliance and Johannesburg’s city governance?
- What further revelations might emerge as the murder case investigation continues?
As the investigation goes on, the primary question is whether Kunene’s involvement was, as previously mentioned, incidental or a sign of more significant problems with the way politics and crime intersect in South Africa.
Kunene is currently suspended while police and legal authorities look into the consequences of Kunene’s presence during the arrest as well as KT Molefe’s role in the DJ Sumbody assassination. The case is a metaphor for ongoing efforts to keep politics, crime, and justice apart in the country’s turbulent social structure.
