Fannie Nkosi fails to have criminal charges dropped as trial date set for 2027

Former police sergeant Fannie Nkosi has suffered a setback after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) rejected his representations seeking to have the criminal charges against him dropped or reduced.

Nkosi appeared before the Pretoria North Regional Court on Thursday, 5 November 2026, where the outcome of his representations was disclosed.

The former police officer had submitted representations to the office of North Gauteng Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Sibongile Mzinyathi in September, requesting that several charges against him be reconsidered.

The request delayed his previous court appearance on 15 October, as the DPP was still considering the representations at the time.

Fannie Nkosi gets new lawyer as NPA rejects representations

Thursday’s proceedings also saw a change in Nkosi’s legal representation, with his lawyer, Katlego Maleho, withdrawing from the case.

Advocate Hartley Sandy Ngoato has since taken over the matter.

While Ngoato confirmed that the state had furnished the defence with the case docket, prosecutor Trot Mphahlela informed the court that Nkosi’s representations had been “unsuccessful”.

Mphahlela also outlined the next steps in the case, informing the court that the matter would return on 28 January 2027 for a pre-trial conference.

The trial is expected to get underway months later, with proceedings scheduled to run from 12 to 15 April 2027.

A further four days have been set aside for 3 to 6 May 2027.

“We have got four days for the first date and the second date we have got for days, so we will be having eight days of trial in this matter,” he told the court.

According to the prosecutor, the state is expected to call at least 15 witnesses to testify during the trial.

“The defence is fully aware; they have got the disclosure, and obviously the rest of the things will be determined by how the proceedings unfold,” Mphahlela added.

Nkosi resigns from SAPS

The latest court developments come after Nkosi resigned from the South African Police Service (Saps) last month.

At the time of his resignation, he was attached to the Gauteng police’s organised crime unit.

Nkosi was denied bail on 22 April 2026.

His leave to appeal application was dismissed by the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on 22 June.

This followed his arrest on 2 April at his residence in Pretoria North, where authorities uncovered a cache of weapons and cash.

Items recovered during the operation included an R5 rifle, a revolver, a 9mm firearm, ammunition, a stun grenade, and official South African Police Service (Saps) dockets.

Police also discovered R52 700 in cash hidden beneath a mattress.

This followed an earlier search in October 2025, during which R325 000 was found in a safe.

Nkosi claimed at the time that the money belonged to his brother, who works in the security industry.

He now faces a wide range of charges, including unlawful possession of explosives, multiple counts related to the failure to safeguard firearms and ammunition, defeating the administration of justice, theft, and money laundering.

Thohoyandou case

Additional charges of fraud, theft and evidence tampering stem from allegations that Nkosi fraudulently obtained a police docket in Thohoyandou, Limpopo, by posing as a senior police officer from Saps head office.

It is alleged that after the docket was returned, key evidence had been tampered with.

The case in question relates to a November 2022 arrest of a suspect involving dagga, unlicensed firearms, and explosives.