DPP shoots down Fannie Nkosi’s bid to escape charges

Former police sergeant Fannie Nkosi has lost his bid to have prosecutors either drop or lessen the charges against him. Nkosi submitted a written request, called representations, to the Director of Public Prosecutions, but it was rejected. This news came to light when the case was revisited in the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.

Nkosi’s counsel, Katlego Maleho, has since withdrawn from the legal representation. Nkosi, once a sergeant in the Gauteng police’s organized crime division, stepped down from the SAPS (South African Police Service) recently. He is currently facing a string of charges, including theft, fraud, subverting justice, money laundering, and unlawful possession of firearms, ammunition, explosives, and even a grenade.

These allegations stem from a search of his property in Pretoria North, where police uncovered illicit weapons, police documents, and a substantial sum of cash. Additional charges allege that Nkosi falsely presented himself as a high-ranking officer in Pretoria and interfered with evidence at a police station in Limpopo in 2022.

He has been incarcerated at Kgosi Mampuru prison in Pretoria. During the last court appearance in October, prosecutor Tholoana Sekhonyana had requested a delay until November 5 to consider the representations. Nkosi gained widespread public attention at the Madlanga Commission, where testimony suggested he functioned as an intermediary between suspended deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya and businessmen, including Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.

The interim report from the commission suggested disciplinary action and a criminal probe against Nkosi.