Madlanga inquiry: Sergeant questioned over surveillance of fellow officer

Gauteng Organised Crime officer Sergeant Fannie Nkosi has been questioned regarding the necessity of surveillance conducted at the home of a fellow police officer who was investigating suspected criminal bosses.

Nkosi concluded his testimony for the day at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, where he faced allegations of acting as a middleman between senior police officials and organised crime figures.

READ: Nkosi fails to justify leaking confidential dossiers to alleged crime figure

Nkosi testified that around 2025, he was contacted by his superior, Richard Shibiri, the Head of Organised Crime at the South African Police Service (SAPS).

According to Nkosi, Shibiri introduced him to an informant, a Pakistani national, who claimed to have information regarding "safe houses" where individuals were being held against their will.

Nkosi stated that he accompanied the informant to these locations, where he took surveillance photographs and generated location pins to send directly to Shibiri.

However, evidence leader Matthew Chaskalson countered this narrative, suggesting that the stated motive for the surveillance was a fabrication and that the operation was actually intended to monitor a SAPS officer whose investigations were threatening powerful criminal interests.

Chaskalson posited that the surveillance was a response to several people who were unhappy with the officer’s investigations into Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala and Katiso 'KT' Molefe.

The inquiry is currently probing whether the surveillance was an attempt to intimidate or interfere with active investigations into these alleged criminal figures.

Nkosi: “I’ve got no reason to lie about what I did with my phone and whom I did it with or to.”

Chaskalson: “My concern is that you do have a reason to lie, and what that reason might be is that there are several people who were not happy with what this officer of the SAPS was doing in his investigations, those investigations extended to Mr [Vusimuzi ‘Cat’] Matlala and [Katiso ‘KT’] Molefe and other people alleged to be involved in criminal activities with Mr Matlala and Mr Molefe.”

Sergeant Nkosi is scheduled to continue his testimony on Wednesday as the commission seeks to uncover the true nature of the relationship between senior SAPS officials and those under investigation.