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The chief evidence leader at the Madlanga commission of inquiry says it is concerning that members of the alleged “Big Five Cartel” were claiming to be representatives of the state and engaging with foreign companies about spy tools known as “grabbers”.
A grabber is used to trick mobile phones into connecting to it instead of the network provider, allowing the operator to intercept calls, text messages and device identifiers.
On Tuesday Matthews Chaskalson SC placed on record WhatsApp conversations between Sgt Fannie Nkosi, the late taxi boss Jothan Msibi, Katiso Molefe and Steve Motsumi.
Nkosi, a police officer, is behind bars after his arrest for fraud, theft, defeating the administration of justice and money laundering
The chats allegedly reveal that Nkosi was the middleman in the talks about a presentation on grabbers between a company based in the Czech Republic and Msibi. The company first asked Nkosi to put an SAPS stamp on the grabber’s demonstration document. Then the document was expected to be shared with Msibi, who was expected to present to Eswatini officials.
The second chat showed Msibi being referred to as a South African official and was engaging with another European company about active monitoring and jamming systems.
Adv. Matthew Chaskalson says it is very worrying that Jothan Msibi, Katiso Molefe, Steve Mutsumi and Sgt. Nkosi, under the pretence of representing the state, were in possession of technology that should only be in the hands of Crime Intelligence, which uses it under strict… pic.twitter.com/V7MI8IyHdp
— Sowetan (@Sowetan1981) August 18, 2026
“This is a very worrying state of affairs because this is the sort of technology that should be in the hands of intelligence agencies, who should use it under constrained and very strict regulations,” Chaskalson said.
The late Msibi is alleged to be the leader of the Big Five Cartel that deals with drug distribution, contact killings and cross-border hijackings while Molefe was also said to be a leader.
While little information has emerged about Motsumi’s dealings, former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks boss Lesetja Senona was scared to mention his name during his testimony at the commission.
The commission is investigating allegations of criminal infiltration of the criminal justice system.
Proceedings continue.
Sowetan
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