{"id":385199,"date":"2026-08-19T07:31:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T07:31:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/385199\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T07:31:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T07:31:17","slug":"police-stamp-secret-chats-and-a-r1m-spy-tech-deal-msibis-alleged-grabber-plot-unpacked-at-madlanga-commission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/385199\/","title":{"rendered":"Police stamp, secret chats and a R1m Spy-Tech deal: Msibi\u2019s alleged grabber plot unpacked at Madlanga Commission"},"content":{"rendered":"

A series of WhatsApp messages presented at the Madlanga Commission has exposed an alleged attempt to use the South African Police Service (SAPS) as a front to acquire sophisticated phone-interception technology for resale in eSwatini.<\/p>\n

The evidence allegedly links suspended Sergeant Fannie Nkosi alongside murder accused Katiso \u201cKT\u201d Molefe, late taxi boss Jotham \u201cKing Mswazi\u201d<\/a> Msibi and private security businessman Steve Motsumi in the proposed grabber transaction.<\/p>\n

Grabbers can intercept mobile communications and extract data from phones, making them powerful surveillance tools.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Chief Evidence Leader Matthew Chaskalson told the commission that the group allegedly planned to obtain the equipment from a Czech Republic-based company while representing the transaction as an official police demonstration.<\/p>\n

\u201cMsibi, Nkosi, Motsumi and Molefe have a plan to sell grabber technology<\/a> to eSwatini,\u201d Chaskalson said.<\/p>\n

The commission heard that correspondence with the Czech supplier included documents bearing SAPS stamps.<\/p>\n

Chaskalson alleged that Nkosi used a police stamp and his force number on a procurement document to help advance the deal.<\/p>\n

WhatsApp exchanges presented in the inquiry provided a glimpse into the negotiations.<\/p>\n

In January 2023, a contact saved on Nkosi\u2019s phone as \u201cShaun Jacobs \u2014 phone expert\u201d reportedly asked whether the \u201cSwazi deal\u201d remained possible.<\/p>\n

Nkosi forwarded the message to Msibi, who replied: \u201cIt\u2019s on the table but they have to display. We don\u2019t want to become fools.\u201d<\/p>\n

The evidence suggested the planned demonstration was intended to reassure the Czech supplier that the equipment was being acquired for police purposes, despite allegations that it was ultimately destined for eSwatini.<\/p>\n

The commission also examined messages involving Msibi and Kyle Phillips, a director of the tobacco company Carnilinx.<\/p>\n

The exchanges allegedly concerned repeated thefts and hijackings of cigarette consignments.<\/p>\n

Chaskalson said an individual named \u201cAli\u201d, whom he described as a suspected robber, communicated with Phillips about recovering stolen stock.<\/p>\n

In another exchange, Phillips allegedly offered Msibi \u201cred water\u201d, a substance associated with illicit gold processing.<\/p>\n

Msibi was identified as the owner of security company Themy Styles, while Molefe was listed as its director.<\/p>\n

Molefe is also facing trial-related allegations linked to the murders of musicians DJ Sumbody and DJ Vintos.<\/p>\n

The commission is expected to hear more evidence related to the claims.<\/p>\n

[email\u00a0protected]<\/a><\/p>\n

IOL Politics<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A series of WhatsApp messages presented at the Madlanga Commission has exposed an alleged attempt to use the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":254158,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[52],"tags":[81344,108532,66397,184346,3468,80077,118049,184344,75320,184339,2311,184341,98669,184340,184338,119801,184342,131,1689,17514,76692,184345,3158,184343,22643],"class_list":["post-385199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-south-africa","tag-ali","tag-czech-republic","tag-dj-sumbody","tag-dj-vintos","tag-eswatini","tag-fannie-nkosi","tag-kamogelo-moichelaiol-co-za","tag-katiso","tag-kt","tag-kyle-phillips","tag-madlanga-commission","tag-madlanga-commission-a","tag-matthew-chaskalson","tag-molefe","tag-msibi","tag-nkosi","tag-shaun-jacobs","tag-south-africa","tag-south-african-police-service","tag-spy","tag-steve-motsumi","tag-swazi","tag-tech","tag-themy-styles","tag-whatsapp"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@africa\/117121009856379045","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=385199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385199\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=385199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=385199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=385199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}