Madlanga commission: Sergeant Nkosi explains his claim that Sibiya ‘likes’ Mkhwanazi

2026-03-17 - 13:00

Sergeant Fannie Nkosi returned to the Madlanga commission on Tuesday and claimed that, contrary to popular belief, suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya likes KZN police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Nkosi testified about the relationship among the South African Police Service (Saps) top brass, including Sibiya, Mkhwanazi, Crime Intelligence’s Dumisani Khumalo and National Commissioner Fannie Masemola. In October last year, Sibiya testified before parliament’s ad hoc committee and said they had a good relationship until tensions arose during the investigation into the murder of musician Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes. At the time, Sibiya contacted Mkhwanazi, who was in a meeting, to relay a request from then-police minister Bheki Cele for a meeting to discuss the case. Sibiya then contacted Mkhwanazi’s deputy, and this did not sit well with the KZN commissioner. Mkhwanazi allegedly told Sibiya that no officer would attend the meeting, and the commissioner apparently told Sibiya to pass the message on to Cele. The two settled their matter following a meeting convened by Masemola in February last year. Sibiya said the relationship was good until Mkhwanazi’s media briefing in July, in which he raised allegations against Sibiya and suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu. Sibiya likes Mkhwanazi At the Madlanga commission last month, Sibiya said Nkosi got along with all his colleagues. He labelled him as a “helpful” person. On Tuesday, the commission took the opportunity to ask Nkosi how the top cops relate to one another, since he is said to get along with everyone. He said Sibiya liked Mkhwanazi. ALSO READ: Sergeant Nkosi contradicts Sibiya’s testimony, says claims are ‘false’ “I’m not defending General Sibiya on whether he likes General Mkhwanazi or not. I’m saying this because General Sibiya once called me to his office to contact General Mkhwanazi and try to make peace between them because they were not getting along in the line of work at that particular time. “So, to me, if General Sibiya did not like Mkhwanazi, he would not have taken that effort. That is my answer. That’s why I’m saying he likes him.” Nkosi, Mkhwanazi and Motsumi This conversation was followed by Nkosi’s own relationship with controversial businessman Steven Motsumi. The commission reviewed Nkosi’s WhatsApp messages with Motsumi, revealing the cop’s alleged improper sharing of information with Motsumi. The commission found evidence showing that Nkosi sent Motsumi a photo of Crime Intelligence’s Khumalo during his arrest last year. Nkosi defended this, saying the photo was already circulating in police groups and that he had no particular reason for sending it to Motsumi. The same day, Nkosi checked in on Mkhwanazi to see how he was doing after the arrest of his colleague. Mkhwanazi responded with a Tupac song containing the lyrics ‘last mothaf**** breathin’. Evidence leader Advocate Matthew Chaskalson commented that he viewed this as Mkhwanazi communicating a message that he would fight to the end. However, Nkosi said it was not the case, saying that he and Mkhwanazi are fans of the rapper. “I think the reason [Mkhwanazi sent him the song] is myself and General Mkhwanazi, we love the same artist, that is Tupac. So now, on the day when we were discussing this arrest, I asked, ‘My man, how are you feeling about this thing?’ He said, ‘No, I’m feeling nice, I’m even cruising, this is what I’m listening to.’ I was worried that General Mkhwanazi was stressed about what had happened earlier,” explained Nkosi. Nkosi took a screenshot of his exchange with Mkhwanazi and sent it to Motsumi. In his defence, he said he wanted to show Motsumi that Mkhwanazi was doing well. Nkosi said he and Motsumi are “big fans” of Mkhwanazi. ‘He cares about South Africa’ Nkosi further defended sending Motsumi a journalist’s enquiry about the alleged Mozambican kidnapping kingpin, Eshmael Nangy. The journalist initially sent the enquiry to Sibiya, who sent it to Nkosi, who then sent it to Motsumi. Nkosi said he sent it to Motsumi because he is a “concerned citizen”, with whom he used to discuss crime matters in the country. “One of the reasons that I constantly send some of the stuff, especially on crime, to Motsumi is because he’s a businessman. Being a businessman, he also has an interest in the safety and security of the inhabitants of South Africa,” explained Nkosi. “Most of the time when I’m with him, we discuss crime that is happening in South Africa, so sometimes I feel the importance that whenever something is happening, I forward it to him, and we discuss it. One of the things that Motsumi is concerned about is when police are implicated in wrongdoing. His interest is there because, according to him, he’s got the best interests of South Africa in mind.” This response did not convince the commissioners. READ NEXT: Sibiya denies Witness F and Matlala’s testimonies about impalas