MADLANGA COMMISSION: Tobacco, tender rigging and spy-tech — inside the world of alleged Big Five boss

Alleged Big Five cartel boss Jothan Msibi was involved in retrieving stolen stock for the controversial tobacco company Carnilinx and was part of a plot to get spyware technology from a Czech company into Eswatini, the Madlanga Commission has heard.

Controversial tobacco company Carnilinx used alleged Big Five cartel boss Jothan (also spelled Jotham) Msibi to retrieve stolen stock, according to messages screened at the Madlanga Commission on Tuesday, 18 August.

Msibi, a taxi industry heavyweight who died in 2024, was also linked during the proceedings to marijuana cultivation, a plot to source and sell spying devices known as grabbers, and questionable dealings around tenders.

The connection extending from Msibi to Carnilinx, meanwhile, unravels in different directions; one leads to politics and a murky arena.

It has been alleged that before he died in 2024 following a short illness, taxi industry heavyweight Msibi headed a sprawling criminal cartel known as the Big Five. A senior policeman said that this cartel infiltrated South Africa’s criminal justice sector, politics and private security. Among those at Msibi’s funeral was a former police minister, Bheki Cele.

During previous Madlanga Commission proceedings , it emerged that Carnilinx director Adriano Mazzotti (who has been open about making donations to the EFF and ANC ) admitted in 2014 to extensive customs, excise and tax non-compliance.

Another Carnilinx thread leads to embattled senior Crime Intelligence officer Feroz Khan.

Khan was wounded in a shooting at the end of June, shortly before he was meant to testify at the Madlanga Commission, where several accusations have been levelled against him – one of which is that he is connected to senior Carnilinx executive Mohammadh Sayed.

Text messages screened during Tuesday’s proceedings added Msibi’s name to those tied to Carnilinx. Msibi is linked to an array of figures who have already featured at the Madlanga Commission, which is examining whether the Big Five cartel compromised South African state institutions, politics and the private sector.

Some of the messages screened on Tuesday were between Carnilinx director Kyle Phillips and Msibi.

Evidence leader Matthew Chaskalson, who read out the communication exchange, explained: “What we see in these chats [… is that] when Carnilinx gets robbed, they call up Mr Msibi to sort it all out and find out who has robbed them and get their stock back.”

One of the messages, dated February 2021, was from Phillips to Msibi, whom he referred to as “Pappa Joe”.

It said: “Hey Pappa Joe ! Thanks for sorting out … just tell us where to collect… but please ask if they can recover the fire-arms [sic] as well.”

Chaskalson said Phillips was messaging about a theft of stock and firearms.