Where the Big Five roam

The notorious farm owned by the late alleged crime boss Jothan “King Mswazi” Msibi lies on a secluded piece of land inside Gauteng’s Dinokeng Game Reserve.

The reserve is widely marketed as being home to the Big Five — a name it ironically shares with the criminal cartel that the much-feared Msibi allegedly headed until his death in 2024.

The Big Five criminal operation — which controlled drug distribution, contract killings and cross-border hijackings — is believed to have included Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala and murder accused Katiso “KT” Molefe among its members.

Much of its work is believed to have been done on the secluded farm, which is nestled about 12km from the N1 freeway. Locals told the Sunday Times this week they regularly saw Tshwane metro police department (TMPD) vehicles escorting visitors from the Hammanskraal offramp to Msibi’s farm.

Community members also say they often saw blue-light convoys heading to the farm, sometimes late into the evening. “There was this black X5, which would be accompanied by another black VW,” one local said.

Msibi, a co-founder of the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco), hosted many high-profile people on the farm before he died in hospital after a short illness in 2024. They included underworld figures, lawyers and politicians. His funeral was a VIP event, with speakers including:

If you score a big tender or contract, you want to have Mswazi on your side so that you’d be able to work without any issues—  Local tenderpreneur

The farm has gained notoriety during the Madlanga commission, where testimony and evidence revealed that several alleged associates and business figures — including businessmen Steve Motsumi, Hangwani Maumela and Suliman Carrim, as well as arrested police officer Sgt Fannie Nkosi — frequented and held operational or business meetings at Msibi’s property.

Matlala testified about a meeting there with suspended deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya. He told the commission that Msibi often referred to him as “son”.

Damning WhatsApp conversations extracted from Msibi’s phone were placed in the spotlight at the commission this week, revealing what appears to be a close-knit network involved in state tender dealings involving Nkosi, former Ekurhuleni municipal manager Imogen Mashazi and others.

Chief evidence leader Matthew Chaskalson revealed that Msibi “may have used businessman Ze Nxumalo” to rig a tender in Ekurhuleni in April 2023. Although Chaskalson did not detail how the rigging of the tender happened, he showed WhatsApp conversations between Nxumalo and Msibi about the identification of a tender the City of Ekurhuleni had not yet issued.

The tender was for the department of transport.“Mr Msibi appears to have used Mr Ze Nxumalo to rig a tender for him at Ekurhuleni. We see at chat number three between Msibi and Nxumalo,” Chaskalson said.

In May the Sunday Times reported that Nxumalo financed Mashazi’s trip to the UK in July 2022. The trip is said to have cost Nxumalo R3.5m. The reason for bankrolling the trip has not been established.

Other WhatsApp chats presented before the commission were between Msibi and Carrim. The chats appeared to be about a plot to subcontract a Gauteng bus service tender in 2021.

Jothan Msibi, who trained as a welder (Business Times) Chaskalson showed that Msibi was also allegedly involved in several deals with associates including Molefe, Motsumi and Nxumalo.

Among the deals was an attempt to purchase sophisticated surveillance equipment from the Czech Republic while allegedly pretending to represent the South African government using a fraudulent SAPS letterhead, which Nkosi made possible.

The device — a “grabber” capable of mimicking a cellphone tower and downloading data from mobile phones that connected to it — was seemingly intended for the eSwatini government.

Msibi’s farm, apparently referred to as “the headquarters”, has no neighbours within earshot. It sits alongside a gravel road, with the nearest neighbouring property about a kilometre away. The farmhouse is hidden by thick bush, a locked gate is is all that is visible from the road.

Msibi was highly feared. The mere mention of his name was enough to unsettle many tenderpreneurs, including five people who spoke to the Sunday Times this week about their experiences of his power and influence. One said he had visited Msibi to “introduce” himself after securing a lucrative tender, but Msibi was allegedly unimpressed that he had arrived empty-handed.

“If you score a big tender or contract, you want to have Mswazi on your side so that you’d be able to work without any issues,” a local tenderpreneur said.

A similar picture emerged at the commission this week from Carnilinx, a tobacco manufacturing company that turned to Msibi in 2021 for help recovering stock that had been stolen.

Next week the commission is expected to hear testimony from Msibi’s former close ally turned foe, taxi boss Joe Sibanyoni, while Motsumi is due to testify a week later

WhatsApp chats between Carnilinx director Kyle Phillips and others show how Msibi allegedly intervened to recover the stolen stock. Those believed to have stolen the stock allegedly became desperate to give it back.

In one message, a man identified only as “Ali” apparently pleads with Phillips to take back the stock after Msibi had intervened. In another WhatsApp text, Phillips promises to bring Msibi a gift for his help.

Msibi’s family this week declined to speak to the Sunday Times. His brother, former Mpumalanga MEC Mandla Msibi, said the family was still mourning his death.

“We are not prepared to take interviews. We have lost a father to his kids, an uncle and a grandfather to his grandsons, so we are watching all the developments and allowing him to continue resting in peace,” Mandla said.

Approached for comment, TMPD spokesperson Isaac Mahamba said the department was not aware of a vehicle escort service being provided to Msibi or his associates. “As the TMPD, we did not authorise any personal escorts for the late Mr Msibi,” Mahamba said.

“What we can confirm is that the department received a request for an escort at his funeral. That is normal, as we receive such requests. We analyse the request and, based on operational needs, such requests might be approved.”

Mahamba said the funeral escort was approved for that day only. “If there were any other services provided to him or his associates, we would like to request those who might have information to come forward to us as the department, and they will be investigated.”

Next week the commission is expected to hear testimony from Msibi’s former close ally turned foe, taxi boss Joe Sibanyoni, while Motsumi is due to testify a week later.