Tobacco, tender rigging and spy-tech — inside the world of alleged Big Five boss

Controversial tobacco company Carnilinx used alleged Big Five cartel boss Jothan (also spelled Jotham) Msibi to retrieve stolen stock, according to messages screened at the Madlanga Commission on Tuesday, 18 August.

Msibi, a taxi industry heavyweight who died in 2024, was also linked during the proceedings to marijuana cultivation, a plot to source and sell spying devices known as grabbers, and questionable dealings around tenders.

The connection extending from Msibi to Carnilinx, meanwhile, unravels in different directions; one leads to politics and a murky arena.

Who was Jothan (also spelled Jotham) Msibi?

It has been alleged that before he died in 2024 following a short illness, taxi industry heavyweight Msibi headed a sprawling criminal cartel known as the Big Five. A senior policeman said that this cartel infiltrated South Africa’s criminal justice sector, politics and private security. Among those at Msibi’s funeral was a former police minister, Bheki Cele.

During previous Madlanga Commission proceedings, it emerged that Carnilinx director Adriano Mazzotti (who has been open about making donations to the EFF and ANC) admitted in 2014 to extensive customs, excise and tax non-compliance.

Another Carnilinx thread leads to embattled senior Crime Intelligence officer Feroz Khan.

Carnilinx and Khan

Khan was wounded in a shooting at the end of June, shortly before he was meant to testify at the Madlanga Commission, where several accusations have been levelled against him – one of which is that he is connected to senior Carnilinx executive Mohammadh Sayed.

Text messages screened during Tuesday’s proceedings added Msibi’s name to those tied to Carnilinx. Msibi is linked to an array of figures who have already featured at the Madlanga Commission, which is examining whether the Big Five cartel compromised South African state institutions, politics and the private sector.

Read more

Feroz Khan — Centrifugal force in SAPS tender dealings with tobacco bosses, inquiry hears

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Some of the messages screened on Tuesday were between Carnilinx director Kyle Phillips and Msibi.

‘Pappa Joe to the rescue’

Evidence leader Matthew Chaskalson, who read out the communication exchange, explained: “What we see in these chats [… is that] when Carnilinx gets robbed, they call up Mr Msibi to sort it all out and find out who has robbed them and get their stock back.”

One of the messages, dated February 2021, was from Phillips to Msibi, whom he referred to as “Pappa Joe”.

It said: “Hey Pappa Joe ! Thanks for sorting out … just tell us where to collect… but please ask if they can recover the fire-arms [sic] as well.”

Chaskalson said Phillips was messaging about a theft of stock and firearms.

Jothan (also spelled Jotham) Msibi’s alleged connections

• Carnilinx director Kyle Phillips.

• Steve Motsumi, who some police officers seemed afraid of. Motsumi’s name has been mentioned alongside Big Five allegations, but he has not been formally identified as part of the cartel.

• Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, accused of various crimes and colluding with police officers, is also alleged to be a Big Five cartel member. Matlala has confirmed he knew Msibi.

• ANC-linked businessman Suliman Carrim was named by Matlala as knowing Motsumi and visiting Msibi’s farm.

• Katiso “KT” Molefe, who is accused of orchestrating several contract killings.

Someone identified as “Ali”, possibly the thief or someone who ended up with the stolen stock, had repeatedly messaged Phillips in an apparent panic, saying he wanted to return the stock and talk to Phillips, who appeared to ignore him after an initial greeting.

Another message from Phillips to Msibi mentioned an individual – possibly Ali – who had been contacting his “guys” and who he told to deal with Msibi.

Msibi responded, “Hi.Kyle.he spoke to me yesterday at night.he told me the cigar is on u street next to u factory.but he promise to come am also waiting but it’sok as long as he brings back the staff [sic].”

Phillips, according to the messages screened on Tuesday, responded to Msibi a few days later, saying: “Afternoon Pappa Joe !!!! All stock is returned.. thank you so so much ! Everything is sorted.”

Tender rigging suspicions and Ze Nxumalo

Focus on Tuesday also turned to Msibi’s contact with businessman Ze Nxumalo, whose name previously surfaced during Madlanga Commission proceedings.

Chaskalson said, “Mr Msibi appears to have used Mr Nxumalo to rig a tender for him at Ekurhuluni.”

A message apparently from Nxumalo to Msibi, dated 13 June 2023, referred to a bid invitation, asking: “Is it spoken for?”

The Madlanga Commission had asked Nxumalo for the “full details” of the person to whom he wrote that message.

Nxumalo responded in a typed statement that Chaskalson described as “rather evasive”.

Nxumalo said, “I have no recollection of the circumstances in which it came to be sent, and I am accordingly unable to identify the person to whom the words were addressed, or from whom I may have received them.”

Nxumalo also disputed that he was the author of the message, saying: “It is not my manner of typing.”

Dealing in grabbers

Earlier during Tuesday’s proceedings, Chaskalson detailed how Msibi had been involved in dealing in international mobile subscriber identity catchers (IMSI-catchers), better known as grabbers.

Several others were allegedly involved in the grabber matters alongside Msibi. These include Katiso Molefe, who faces a murder charge; Steve Motsumi, a businessman previously mentioned at the Madlanga Commission as someone police officers are afraid to name; and Gauteng Sergeant Fannie Nkosi, who is facing unrelated charges.

Messages between Nkosi and someone saved under the name Shaun Jacobs suggested a questionable project that developed in 2023.

What is a grabber?

Madlanga Commission evidence leader Matthew Chaskalson explained that grabbers “enable you to eavesdrop on cellphones and extract information from cellphones”. Grabbers, he added, mimicked a legitimate cellphone tower and “tricked” nearby cellphones to connect to it instead of the legitimate tower.

This project was aimed at getting grabbers (or related technology) from a Czech company, Invasys, and channelling the acquisitions to Eswatini.

Chaskalson said Nkosi had indicated to the Czech government that Invasys would give a grabber demonstration to South African police, but the actual plan, unbeknownst to the Czech authorities, was to sell grabber technology to Eswatini.

(Messages suggested that Msibi, as part of this plan, met with Eswatini’s king.)

Chaskalson said that Nkosi’s signing of documents on behalf of, and purporting to represent, the South African Police Service in deals with international suppliers, suggested “an out and out fraud”.

The grabber plan linked to Eswatini did not pan out.

‘Worrying state of affairs’

Chaskalson said Msibi, Motsumi and Molefe had, meanwhile, “explored other options. These three men are dealing with foreign companies to get access to grabber technology purporting to represent a state.”

The alternate grabber plan had involved Msibi and Motsumi travelling to places including Paris and Zurich.

Chaskalson described the situation as “a very worrying state of affairs”. He emphasised that grabber technology “should only go into the hands of intelligence agencies who are then constrained to use it under fairly strict legislative controls”. Instead, he noted, “Private parties passing themselves off as representatives of state” had gained access to the technology and were attempting to trade in it. DM

What next?

National Coloured Congress leader Fadiel Adams is expected to testify before the Madlanga Commission on Wednesday, 19 August, with a probable focus on his role in apparently sparking controversial investigations against Crime Intelligence officers. The commission aims to wrap up its hearings by early October, after which it will complete a report on the hearings and present it to President Cyril Ramaphosa. DM