The wife of a Mozambican businessman and suspected kidnapper has stated in her affidavit to the Hawks that rogue cops working with KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi stole her six expensive Rolex watches, other jewellery items and R50 000 cash during a raid on her Gauteng home last year.
Nazia Nangy, the wife of one of the suspects who were arrested and allegedly tortured by Mkhwanazi and his slew of cops, believed to be members of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), over the kidnapping of a KwaZulu-Natal businessman Zakariyya Desai, also alleged that she was locked up in jail for four days without being allowed to bath and change undergarments.
Nangy was allegedly tortured and subjected to other violations after the cops instructed her to give them incriminating information about her husband Esmael Nangy’s involvement in Desai’s kidnapping and the businessman’s whereabouts. They believed Esmael and her brother Setefane Brites, among other suspects, had kidnapped Desai and demanded a R35-million ransom.
In an affidavit to Hawks investigator Maj-Gen Mmeli Makinyane, which she deposed to on July 23, Nangy stated that when she was arrested on November 27, 2024, and taken to KwaDukuza Police Station, where she remained for four days, police ransacked her home and committed grand theft.
“The police conducted an illegal raid and ransacked our home, destroying numerous rooms, furniture and appliances, and even committed theft of a wall-bolted safe by removing the bolts from the wall, which contained five genuine Rolex watches, some diamond and gold jewellery and other items of extremely high value.
“In addition thereto, my Rolex kept on my bedside counter was also stolen, along with money to the value of approximately R50 000, which was kept in my closet,” she wrote in an affidavit submitted to Makinyane.
Nangy also revealed the torture she was subjected to while languishing in jail.
“During this time (her incarceration), I was held in inhumane conditions without even being afforded [a chance] to change my clothing or underwear,” Nangy, a Mozambican national, stated in her affidavit.
She said this happened despite her telling the police that she did not know Desai from a bar of soap.
“I expressed grave concern at this and told them that I was not aware of any kidnapping nor any person named Zakariyya, and that I have made numerous attempts to call my brother to no avail. I then forwarded them (her brother’s number) to police officers in fear that they would continue harming and possibly kill my husband as they have threatened,” she said.
Nangy was released on December 1, 2024, without ever appearing in court.
The saga began in November 2024, when Esmael and Brites were travel-ling from Mpumalanga to Johannesburg. According to Esmael’s affidavit, as they approached the Kraft Road offramp in Edenvale, a white VW Golf 8 and a BMW forced them to a halt.
“They pointed guns at us, forced us onto the ground, covered our heads, [and] failed to present an arrest warrant,” Esmael recalled. Neither the assailants nor their vehicles were marked or identified, said Esmael. The pair was taken to a private residence in Houghton, Johannesburg.
There, Esmael claimed in another affidavit, “Our clothes were cut off with knives while handcuffed, causing injury,” and none of their possessions – cellphones, cash, or Esmael’s Mercedes-Benz – were properly inventoried in official SAPS registers. The police allegedly confiscated Esmael’s Merc, yet it was later found burnt in Pietermaritzburg, despite it being recorded as being in police custody.
He said the interrogators demanded information about a supposed kidnapping, brandished a photo showing him dining with one Jumin Ho in Durban earlier that month, and accused him of purchasing airtime for use in extortion – a charge he denied.
“They beat and tortured me, including genital torture with garden shears (sic),” Esmael alleged.
When he refused to unlock his iPhone, he said, they choked him and then tied a plastic bag over his head and filled it with water.
“After over two hours of torture, I unlocked the phone.”
During this ordeal, Esmael was forced to call his wife, with his captors threatening her, “demanding she locate Jumin Ho or they [would return] me
in pieces”.
Esmael’s associate was later separated from him and taken to Mpumalanga for further interrogation.
On December 9 2024, Esmael, his associate, and a third suspect, an SAPS officer Samkeliso Mlotshwa, were allegedly taken from police custody and driven to a private farm near KwaDukuza.
There, Mkhwanazi and members of the complainant’s family reportedly confronted the suspects directly.
This version is corroborated by a police report seen by Sunday World. According to the police report, “It is alleged that the PC (Mkhwanazi) told the officer, ‘You should have committed suicide’.”
The report further stated that two of the suspects, including Esmael, were then “severely tortured again, this time in the presence of the PC and the complainant’s family”.
The report further stated that the victims “were held for most of the night” before being transferred to other locations, including Matsulu near the Mozambique border and, ultimately, KwaDukuza, KZN. One victim required hospitalisation “due to the extent of injuries sustained from the torture”.
The affidavits formed part of a formal bail application and a complaint to the Hawks.
This is not the first time the PKTT has been accused of theft. Attempted murder-accused Vusumuzi “Cat” Matlala has also accused them of stealing his two luxury watches.
