Johnathan Paoli
Suspended Tshwane CFO Gareth Mnisi has told the Madlanga Commission he merely “played along” with suspended police sergeant Fannie Nkosi’s requests to check bidder compliance in a Tshwane security tender.
Appearing before the commission on Monday, Mnisi said he had told Nkosi on four occasions in March 2025 that he could not assess compliance because the tender process had closed.
“He wanted me to check compliance. I believe his request was premised on the mistaken belief that I would be able to check whether the bidders were compliant,” Mnisi said.
But his testimony came under intense scrutiny as commissioners interrogated a series of WhatsApp exchanges in which Nkosi sent him a list of companies bidding for the security tender.
The list included Elshadai Security Services, Tau Tau Security, Two Cops in Security, Vision Acuity Security, Shumile Security, Vimtsire Security Services and Ngaphesheya Security, a company linked to Nkosi’s brother.
Both Commission chairman Mbuyiseli Madlanga and Commissioner Sandile Khumalo questioned Mnisi’s claim that he had merely brushed off Nkosi’s requests, saying the exchanges appeared to show that he had entertained them.
Mnisi told the commission that on 11 March 2025, Nkosi sent him a message naming two companies, Ngaphesheya and Elshadai, but that he immediately called Nkosi to clarify that he “could not check compliance” because the tender process had already closed.
Seven days later, Nkosi sent the same list again, prompting Mnisi to reply: “thanks my bro”.
A third message followed on 25 March, again repeating the company names and asking for compliance to be checked. Commissioners also examined messages in which Mnisi responded within minutes, saying “let’s meet”, “thanks, I am on top of this”, and asking: “Is this our final list?”
Commissioner Khumalo questioned why Mnisi would thank Nkosi for a reminder about something he claimed he could not assist with.
In response, Mnisi said he was trying to manage the relationship “delicately”, but conceded that his approach may have sent mixed signals.
“Had I not treated this man in the manner that I did, I would have been constantly bombarded with this issue. Ideally, I should have said clearly: ‘I’ve told you before to stop it.’ But he is also a friend of mine, so I needed to deal with this matter delicately,” he said.
Madlanga said Mnisi’s version did not square with the messages before the commission, noting that his responses indicated engagement rather than simple avoidance.
Evidence leader advocate Matthew Chaskalson also put it to Mnisi that two of the companies Nkosi raised were among the seven ultimately appointed from a field of 57 bidders.
Mnisi rejected the suggestion that he had influenced the outcome, insisting the companies “were compliant” and that their success had nothing to do with his interactions with Nkosi. He maintained that Nkosi’s requests, as he understood them, related to compliance rather than to the outcome of the bid.
The commission further probed whether Mnisi may have indirectly advised Nkosi, particularly after he admitted to providing guidance on tender requirements in other contexts. Mnisi acknowledged that he had previously offered advice to Nkosi regarding his brother’s company, but said this related to a separate tender outside Tshwane.
But commissioners questioned whether that blurred the lines, given that Mnisi was chair of the city’s Bid Adjudication Committee at the time. Khumalo also noted that Mnisi and Nkosi had spoken several times on the day the list was exchanged, suggesting more active engagement than Mnisi admitted.
Mnisi defended this, saying: “We are friends. We speak frequently. It’s not fair to assume I asked for the list.”
Further concerns were raised about a message in which Mnisi said “we are managing this guy”, while he denied any link to political parties, including the EFF, after a forwarded message referred to “the red berets” and “CIC (Juju)”.
Mnisi said he had “never spoken to Julius Malema or any EFF member about tenders”, despite the commission being shown evidence that he had sent Nkosi an article on Malema.
He said the person mentioned in the WhatsApp messages was ANC-linked Tshwane official Mpho Lekukela, whom Nkosi had previously testified helped facilitate “peace meetings” with Mnisi after their relationship broke down.
Mnisi’s testimony is scheduled to continue on Tuesday morning.
INSIDE POLITICS
