Suspended Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) deputy chief Umashi Dhlamini has failed to convince the Madlanga commission why he sought to verify if two service providers were compliant.
Dhlamini faces allegations of tender irregularities in the metro.
Last month, Deputy Chief of Police for Asset Protection and Security Services at the TMPD, Revo Spies, testified before the Madlanga commission about alleged tender rigging.
The commission heard that 22 companies were awarded a security tender, with about R2.9 billion having been paid out to date.
The names of suspended City of Tshwane CFO Gareth Mnisi, suspended Sergeant Fannie Nkosi and Dhlamini came up during the commission in WhatsApp messages exchanges regarding these tenders.
Tshwane tenders
On Friday, the commission focused on one of Tshwane’s tenders and zoomed in on WhatsApp chats between Mnisi, Nkosi and Dhlamini.
Dhlamini forwarded a message to Nkosi, which he says was sent to him by a consultant, Nico Mathobela, on 9 March 2025, which reads: “Afternoon, my brother. I trust you are well and your family. My sincere apologies for the delay in sending this message. The two vehicles for land [tender] are Ngaphesheya Security Services and El Shaddai Security Services. Have a blessed Sunday and lots of love.”
Dhlamini confirmed receiving the message from Mathobela.
“The day before, when I spoke to him [Nkosi], he requested me to check with Nico if he had done compliance for the tenders of Ngaphesheya and El Shaddai. He requested me to confirm with Nico and send him the information. Nico is someone who does administrative work, assisting people with tender compilations and so forth. And he assists bidders in getting their bids in order so that they will be compliant,” explained Dhlamini.
Dhlamini on EFF ‘list’
Two days later, Dhlamini sent Nkosi a message with a list of seven other companies. He said he had received the list from “Muzi and Sipho”, who approached him, claiming it had been compiled by the EFF. It was later found that the list was not from the EFF.
“They [Muzi and Sipho] thought I had a way within this process to help them.”
However, Dhlamini denied that his message suggested he believed there was indeed a list from the EFF that Mnisi was in possession of, which he wanted to compare to check the veracity of Muzi and Sipho’s claim.
“So you thought that the CFO would have a list of EFF companies from Mr Malema?” Commissioner Sesi Baloyi asked Dhlamini.
“Your message conveys that in so many ways, it’s not a question of interpretation. Your words in this message convey that you know that the CFO has a list that he got, and it’s a list of CIC Juju. You know that the CFO has that list, and what you are doing with your message is saying to Sergeant Nkosi, the CFO should compare that list, which you know he has from the CIC, compare it with this list that you say was given to you by Muzi and Sipho. That’s what your message is conveying.
“You are clearly conveying that the CFO is sitting with a list that he got from the CIC. That’s what your message says. Why did you want to know if Muzi and Sipho were telling the truth when they said those companies came from the EFF?”
EFF members?
Dhlamini insisted that he only wanted to confirm if Muzi and Sipho were telling the truth about the EFF.
“What would you have done if the CFO reported to you that, yes, these companies are from the EFF? You say these people wanted you to help them or assist them with a tender. So you know that’s why they gave you this list. They want to get a certain advantage, through your assistance, to do with a tender,” asked Commissioner Baloyi.
“So when you send the same list to the CFO, even on your version, even if one accepted your version that you were not conveying that he has a list from the CIC, on your version, you send this list to what end? You know the purpose of the list. It’s to get assistance and advantage in the tender process. When you send it to the CFO, it’s for what purpose?
“It cannot be that you want to verify that they are members of the ANC or the EFF. It’s irrelevant. This is a tender process. It’s a tender process of the city. It should have nothing to do with whether people are ANC or not. It shouldn’t matter. In fact, if you were acting improperly, you would have kicked them out of your office and said, I want nothing to do with this. You don’t do that. You forward it to the CFO. To what end are you giving him the list?”
Dhlamini insisted the only reason he forwarded the list was to check if the two men were telling the truth about the EFF.
Dhlamini: Nkosi and Mnisi are ‘close’
The commissioners further took issue with Dhlamini verifying the list through Nkosi rather than contacting Mnisi directly.
“Why did you ask Sergeant Nkosi to check with the CFO rather than just asking the CFO yourself directly?” asked the commission chair.
“I know that Sergeant Nkosi has a relationship with the CFO and I don’t have the CFO’s numbers. I don’t have a relationship with the CFO. It was going to work better for me, for him to verify for me.”
Madlanga took issue with this explanation, saying the task at hand had nothing to do with relationships, but the city, and Dhlamini should have picked up the phone to verify the list directly with the CFO.
“What was so difficult with you getting the CFO’s number from that contact list, calling him and directly verifying from him? Why did this have to go via Nkosi? That doesn’t make sense. If you want to make a genuine verification with an employee of Tshwane, you being an employee of Tshwane, there is a contact list which is readily available. Why don’t you take that contact list and call the CFO and seek this verification? What you say about their relationship does not make sense. Why did you not do that?”
Dhlamini insisted he only found it easier to approach Nkosi because of their relationship.
