WATCH | Inside Sgt Fannie Nkosi’s closed heist dockets found at his home

The state has accused police sergeant Fannie Nkosi of stealing closed dockets that he hid at his home, suggesting he closed the cases to frustrate their investigations.

Nkosi was arrested after the discovery of six dockets at his home. The dockets were classified as undetected, meaning there were no leads to help police make arrests.

On Monday, state prosecutor Adv Tholoana Sekhonyana told the Pretoria North magistrate’s court that the dockets were found inside a Wendy house which appeared to be storage for unwanted items.

The first docket relates to a case that happened in Vereeniging in 2014 where a police officer was blocked by two suspects and robbed of his service pistol and cellphone.

The other docket dates back to June 2024 in Roodepoort when a G4S security officer was robbed of his service firearm after being approached by two suspects at Westgate mall.

Sekhonyana told the court that in September 2022, after a cash-in-transit robbery in Musina, Limpopo, police who attended the scene arrived at the police station to find Nkosi waiting for them. Nkosi allegedly asked for details of the firearm found in the possession of the three suspects who were arrested and left the officers to investigate a case of cash-in-transit robbery only.

The state also submitted that after ballistics showed the origin of the firearm used in Musina, he didn’t charge the suspects with those crimes despite being duty-bound to do so.

It must be noted that the normal process practice is that possession of firearm docket must be married with the robbery/cash-in-transit docket and be investigated by one unit.

—  Adv Tholoana Sekhonyana, prosecutor

“It must be noted that the normal process practice is that possession of firearm docket must be married with the robbery/cash-in-transit docket and be investigated by one unit,” Sekhonyana said.

She also told the court that a ballistic report had revealed that the two firearms recovered from the three suspects were the two firearms that had been stolen in Roodepoort and Vereeniging.

Police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe previously told journalists that closed dockets are only kept in a police station’s storage room and, once archived, they are not allowed to be in the possession of an investigating officer.

The other dockets seized by police are related to three separate incidents where British American Tobacco vehicles were hijacked.

In the first incident in Rietgat in 2013, a British American Tobacco employee was stopped by two suspects and cigarettes worth R44,000 stolen. A suspect was arrested and his fingerprints taken but he only made one court appearance and the matter was closed.

The other case happened in Sinoville in 2014, where another British American Tobacco employee was hijacked and cigarettes worth R298,000 stolen.

While Fidelity company had indicated it could provide CCTV footage and help with an identity parade the matter was closed.

The sixth docket relates to a 2014 Ga-Rankuwa case where another BAT vehicle was hijacked. The case was closed despite police having CCTV footage that showed the suspects and their vehicle.

Inside the dockets police found a picture, CCTV disc and still footage.

Sekhonyana, reading from the affidavit of the investigating officer, said she found it disturbing that Nkosi was in possession of the dockets.

“The disturbing part is that some of the dockets were even closed and filed without certain evidence which was supposed to be disposed of during the filing of the docket,” she said.

“I submit that the applicant stole these dockets from the stations where they belong. The applicant’s commander issued a statement filed as per A-17 in the docket stating that she is not aware of the dockets mentioned above.”

Sekhonyana described Nkosi as “someone who has a propensity of distributing confidential documents to private individuals with a purpose of defeating and/or obstructing the course of justice”.

Earlier Nkosi told the court he was in possession of the dockets because he was part of the task team established by President Cyril Ramaphosa and national police commissioner Fannie Masemola to deal with cash-in-transit and violent crimes.

His lawyer Siza Dlali asked magistrate Theledi that Nkosi be kept in a hospital section as he is diabetic and also fears that he could be poisoned if he is kept in a general cells.

However, Theledi said she would not dictate to the prison authorities where Nkosi should be kept.

Nkosi will continue his bail application on April 20 after the matter was postponed on Monday.