Courts & Legal
Gareth Mnisi back in the hot seat over Tshwane tender saga
Suspended City of Tshwane CFO Gareth Mnisi is back before the Madlanga Commission, and the questions around Tshwane’s controversial R2.9 billion security tender are only getting sharper.
On Tuesday morning, Mnisi was expected to face further probing during his third appearance at the commission of inquiry, which has been unpacking allegations of tender rigging linked to the Tshwane Metro Police Department. At the centre of it all is whether senior figures worked together to influence who landed one of the metro’s biggest security contracts.
Why Mnisi is under pressure
Mnisi has been accused of conspiring with suspended TMPD deputy chief Umashi Dhlamini and Sergeant Fannie Nkosi, a man he has described as a friend, in connection with the tender process.
That allegation gained even more attention after WhatsApp exchanges surfaced at the commission. The messages showed Nkosi forwarding Mnisi a list of seven companies said to have come from Dhlamini for compliance checks. One message referred to the list as coming from “the red berets” and suggested it should be compared with one allegedly from “CIC Juju,” a reference that was identified at the hearing as EFF leader Julius Malema.
Mnisi has firmly denied that Malema gave him any such list.
In a country where public procurement scandals regularly hit a nerve, that denial matters. It is one thing for a tender process to look messy. It is another for political influence to be suggested in black and white during a public inquiry. That is part of why this testimony has been drawing such close attention.
The conflict of interest question is not going away
Another issue hanging over Mnisi’s testimony is his involvement with Ngaphesheya Construction and Projects, a company linked to Nkosi’s brother, Bheki.
The commission heard that Mnisi assisted the company with tender documentation for a separate tender outside the City of Tshwane. On paper, he argued, that made it acceptable. His position was that there was no conflict of interest because the bid he helped with was unrelated to the city, and he said he had no financial or personal benefit to gain.
But the problem for Mnisi is not only what he says his intention was. It is also the overlap.
Ngaphesheya was at the same time competing for the R2.9 billion TMPD security tender, a process in which Mnisi, as chairperson of the bid adjudication committee, was due to play a role. That has made the commission’s line of questioning especially important, because even where direct benefit is denied, issues of independence and fairness remain central in public tender matters.
Why Tuesday matters
Evidence leader Matthew Chaskalson was expected to resume questioning Mnisi on Tuesday morning, with the conflict of interest issue likely to remain a major focus.
Also drawing attention is the fact that both Ngaphesheya and El Shadai, one of the companies Nkosi allegedly asked Mnisi to check for compliance, were among the seven companies appointed in the Tshwane security tender.
That detail gives the hearing extra weight. It shifts the story from rumour and association into the territory of direct scrutiny over process, relationships, and whether key officials crossed lines they should never have approached.
For many South Africans, commissions of inquiry can sometimes feel distant until a case touches something familiar: public money, policing, political influence, and a city already under pressure to deliver basic accountability. That is why Mnisi’s testimony is landing beyond Pretoria legal circles. It speaks to a broader frustration with how major contracts are handled and who really pulls the strings behind closed doors.
As the commission continues, the biggest question is becoming harder to ignore: was this simply poor judgement and blurred boundaries, or does the evidence point to a more deliberate attempt to shape the outcome of a multibillion rand tender?
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Source: IOL
Featured Image: EWN
