By Palesa Matlala
- The Pretoria High Court heard final arguments on Tuesday in Nkosi’s bail appeal after a magistrate ruled he could interfere with investigations if freed.
- Prosecutors told the court Nkosi had police dockets, illegal firearms, a stun grenade and over R300,000 in unexplained cash when police raided his home.
A suspended police officer is fighting to get out of jail after a court refused him bail over guns, cash and police dockets found at his home.
The Pretoria High Court heard final arguments on Tuesday in Fannie Nkosi’s appeal against a magistrate’s ruling that kept him behind bars. A Pretoria North magistrate denied him bail in April, finding he could interfere with investigations or flee if released. Judgment was reserved.
Nkosi is a sergeant in the South African Police Service’s Organised Crime Unit. He was suspended on 28 March and required to hand over his service pistol, ammunition and all dockets.
Prosecutors told the court that more than R300,000 moved through Nkosi’s bank account while he allegedly earned around R16,000 a month. Judge Mokhine Mosopa repeatedly pressed Nkosi’s legal team over the cash and police dockets found during a raid at his Dorandia home.
The State strongly opposed his release. Prosecutor Trott Mphahlele argued the magistrate’s decision was reasonable and backed by evidence. He told the court there was no urgent reason for Nkosi to be freed.
“It’s business as usual at home, as the wife is gainfully employed. There is no one starving as we speak,” Mphahlele said.
Nkosi’s lawyer, Hendrick Potgieter, argued the State failed to prove his client would flee or reoffend if granted bail, and that the lower court ignored alternatives to detention.
“There is an abundance of alternatives that would have been able to deal with the fears of the State,” Potgieter said.
When police raided Nkosi’s property in April, they found seven firearms, state-issued ammunition he had not surrendered, a stun grenade and six dockets linked to CIT robberies and hijackings, all closed with no arrests. Five of the dockets were originals.
Nkosi is accused of acting as a middleman between criminals and senior police officers, including suspended general Shadrack Sibiya. The charges he faces relate to what was found at his home.
Pictured above: The Pretoria High Court has reserved judgment in suspended police officer Fannie Nkosi’s bail appeal.
Image source: @CrimeWatch_RSA/X
