Businessman Ze Nxumalo pressured police to arrest Musa Khawula, Madlanga commission hears

The Madlanga commission on Monday heard evidence of how controversial businessman Ze Nxumalo pressured senior police officers into arresting entertainment blogger Musa Khawula.

In late 2024, Nxumalo opened a defamation of character case against Khawula after the blogger had posted information about his private life.

An officer within Gauteng’s Organised Crime Unit, Sergeant Fannie Nkosi, testified before the commission on Monday about allegations he was pressured to effect an arrest on Khawula.

WhatsApp texts before the Madlanga commission showed there was extensive communication between Nxumalo and Nkosi.

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Around late 2024, the texts showed Nxumalo increasingly putting pressure on Nkosi to arrest Khawula, even at one point accusing him of being scared of the blogger.

This was despite the fact that Nkosi was not the investigating officer in the matter.

Nkosi said: “I never felt that he was pushing, I felt that he was just venting out that he opened the case and there was no movement and he was calling people that might help. I took it in that vision.”

Chats between the two showed Nxumalo was sent Khawula’s warrant of arrest on the same day it was signed by a magistrate.

Nkosi also shared Khawula’s contact details with the businessman, which he testified he received from an SABC presenter called Natasha.