A tense exchange unfolded at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Friday, where suspended SAPS Sergeant Fannie Nkosi was questioned over a controversial message he sent following the murder of popular musician, DJ Sumbody.
Nkosi was asked about a photograph he shared of Oupa Sefoka, known as DJ Sumbody, standing alongside his friend, Mpho Lekukela.
The image was sent just days after Sefoka’s killing, accompanied by a puzzling message in which Nkosi asked why Lekukela had not “called Sefoka to order”.
Nkosi unable to clarify message meaning
Evidence leader Advocate Matthew Chaskalson pressed Nkosi to clarify the meaning of his words.
“Can you describe the people in the photograph and explain what it is that Dj Sumbody had done for you to say he needed to be called to order?” asked Chaskalason.
Nkosi confirmed he remembers sending the image and identified the individuals in it as Lekukela and DJ Sumbody. However, he told the commission he could not recall what he meant by his question.
‘I cannot remember’
According to Nkosi, the message had no connection to Sefoka’s murder.
“I would not comment on Dj Sumbody’s murder, here it was on the basis of the picture that I sent to Mr Lekukela and I uttered these words. I cannot recall what the conversation was about, but it had nothing to do with why he was murdered,” he responded.
Chaskalson was not convinced, asking why such a message would be sent so soon after the killing.
“We’ll look at it now,” said Chaskalson, questioning why Nkosi would send such a remark to a grieving friend.
“I cannot remember,” Nkosi replied.
‘You are lying’
The exchange escalated when commission Chairperson Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga directly challenged Nkosi’s credibility.
“Come on now sergeant, do not play games with us. This does not make sense to me, that you do not remember what the conversation was about but you are certain that it had nothing to do with how he was murdered? You cannot say that you do not remember that, and if you tell us that I am saying directly to you and to your face that you are lying,” said Madlanga.
“Please try to come up with a different answer which is more plausible, otherwise you are just telling us lies,” Madlanga added.
Nkosi maintained that the passage of time had affected his memory, noting that the incident occurred years ago.
“I can only remember what I was talking about maybe with the help of the person I was talking to,” he said.
An unsatisfied Madlanga urged Nkosi to reflect further during the break.
“Please apply your mind and try to remember over the lunch break, because I know you are lying to us. I want an honest and truthful answer when we come back because right now you are lying to us,” Madlanga said.
DJ Sumbody died in a hail of bullets in Johannesburg on 20 November 2022.
The killing continues to draw intense public and legal scrutiny.
READ MORE: DJ Sumbody’s killer Katiso Molefe is a fraudster, should not get bail, argues state
