The Pretoria High Court has reserved judgment in Sergeant Fannie Nkosi’s bail appeal application.
Nkosi appeared in court on Tuesday to appeal the decision of the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court to deny him bail. On 22 April, Magistrate Thandi Theledi ruled that Nkosi had failed to prove he would not pose a danger to others, evade prosecution, or interfere with the investigation and witnesses.
He was arrested by the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry task team on Thursday, 2 April, following his testimony and a raid at his home in Pretoria. Nkosi faces charges including defeating the ends of justice, possession of illegal ammunition and explosives and theft.
Judge Mokhine Mosopa said he will deliver the judgment soon and added that his registrar will communicate the date on which it will be handed down.
“I’m grateful for the submissions and the heads of arguments that you have presented. I’m now full. You have fed me with a lot of information. I’m going to reserve this judgment,” he said.
Why a large amount of money?
On Tuesday, Advocate Hendrik Potgieter, for Nkosi, argued that the magistrate was wrong in her findings in respect of the facts and the law. He said the High Court was in a position to interfere with those findings.
The State previously argued that Nkosi might attempt to interfere with evidence, police, administrative systems, case documents or exhibits. However, Potgieter argued that the State did not provide the bail court with any substantive reasons for the probability or likelihood of any of those.
Judge Mokhine Mosopa raised the issue of the money that was allegedly found at Nkosi’s house during the police raid.
“According to the state, the respondent’s case is that there was no reasonable explanation why he was in that. So, for you to say that he may commit a Schedule 1 offence is unfounded, is based on what, Mr Potgieter? Why do you keep R350 000 in your house? You are not a businessman; you are a police officer who is on a salary of R16 000.
“I can’t even keep that amount of money because I am not getting that salary. You go on and keep another R52 000. What does that mean?” Asked Judge Mosopa.
“My Lord, that alone cannot show that there is a propensity to commit a Schedule 1 offence,” said Potgieter.
Nkosi’s firearms
The judge and advocate further argued about the ammunition allegedly found in Nkosi’s house during the raid.
“Why does he have to keep such a large amount of ammunition relating to the R5 rifle in his house? It doesn’t end there; only five [out of 62] of the ammunition found there were found to be police-issued. It means the rest were not police-issued,” commented the judge.
“With the number of firearms that the appellant has registered to his name, 400 rounds of ammunition is not a large quantity. He’s a licensed gun owner. The firearms and ammunition were seized by the police; they’re no longer in his possession. So, the reason that he would place society in danger does not exist any more because they were taken by the police,” argued Potgieter.
State has ‘strong case’
Advocate Trott Mphahlele, for the State, argued that there is a strong case against Nkosi and cited several reasons why his appeal should be dismissed.
While Nkosi denied that a stun grenade was found at his house during the raid on 2 April 2026, Mphahlele showed the court images allegedly showing the stun grenade at the house.
“The appellant, in his submissions, insisted that no stun grenade was found on the premises. The stun grenade was found inside the house. This particular stun grenade was found at the bar in the house. That’s where the stun grenade was found,” argued Mphahlele.
Nkosi previously told the court the dockets found at his house were in his possession, as he am part of the task team dealing with cash-in-transit heists and violent crimes.
“At the time when I was suspended, these dockets were in my possession, and as such, I did not steal them, nor was I defeating justice,” he previously told the court.
However, Mphahlele told the court that Nkosi previously denied having some of those dockets in his possession, only for them to allegedly be found at his house. In some cases, he allegedly made copies of the dockets and kept the evidence in his possession instead of charging the accused.
“The police dockets were found, and these particular dockets were actually kept in the Wendy house. And as the investigating officer correctly stated, they were gathering dust in the Wendy house. And it is our submission, my Lord, as we stated in our list of arguments, that the state has a very strong case against the appellant.”
Another case against Nkosi
While still in custody earlier this month, the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry’s Recommendations Investigative Task Team brought additional charges of defeating and obstructing the course of justice against Nkosi.
The State alleges that on 10 November 2022, a suspect was arrested for possession of dagga, unlicensed firearms, and explosives.
Following the arrest, Nkosi allegedly fetched the original case docket under the pretence that he had been sent by the head office. A few months later, he allegedly returned to Thohoyandou, identified himself as a colonel from head office, and removed the confiscated dagga from police custody.
He booked the exhibit at the head office, but it was later discovered that one of the exhibit bags containing the dagga had allegedly been tampered with.
The state now seeks to combine the two cases and will return to court on 22 July for this matter.
Nkosi has denied all charges against him, declaring that the state has a “weak” case.
