The businessman was reportedly questioned by investigators as scrutiny intensifies over his alleged links to former police deputy commissioner Shadrack Sibiya and claims about police connections and withdrawn criminal charges.
PKTT investigates Cabonge
Businessman and socialite Serge Cabonge is being investigated by the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), with reports indicating that he was brought in for questioning on Monday, 12 October 2026.
The investigation comes amid growing scrutiny of his alleged connections to former deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya and businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, whose name has featured in separate investigations into alleged corruption and criminal activity.
According to eNCA, Cabonge was questioned by investigators, although the precise status of the investigation and whether he was questioned as a suspect or as someone with information relevant to the probe have not been publicly established. Being questioned does not, in itself, mean that a person has committed an offence.
The development follows a recorded telephone conversation attributed to Cabonge that was played during Sibiya’s bail proceedings at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on 13 October.
The recording brought renewed attention to Cabonge’s claims about his police connections and his alleged involvement in helping people facing criminal charges.
The recording that put Cabonge in the spotlight
The approximately 25-minute recording featured a conversation between Cabonge and a man identified in court as Mr M, the father of a 16-year-old girl who is one of the complainants in the criminal case against Sibiya.
During the conversation, Cabonge allegedly described how he used his police connections to assist the family of a man he said was a former judge president. According to his account, the man’s daughter had faced criminal charges following a collision in Sandton involving a woman carrying a child.
Cabonge claimed that he contacted people he knew in the police service to establish details of the case and that the charges were subsequently withdrawn within about a week.
The identity of the man he referred to was not disclosed in the recording, and the allegations have not been established as fact.
The recording has raised questions about whether personal connections within the police service may have been used to influence the handling of criminal cases.
It is this broader concern about alleged police influence and possible interference in criminal matters that has drawn attention to Cabonge’s statements.
Cabonge denies being a middleman for Sibiya and Matlala
The recording also touched on the relationship between Sibiya and Matlala, a businessman who has faced separate criminal allegations.
Cabonge discussed alleged dealings between the two men and referred to suspended police sergeant Fannie Nkosi as a person through whom communications had taken place.
In the recording, Cabonge pushed back against suggestions that he had collected money from Matlala to pass on to Sibiya.
“People think I collect money for Sibiya. I don’t collect any fucking cents for Sibiya,” he is heard saying.
He also alleged that he had been removed from the communication between the two men, saying that they were communicating through Nkosi.
The claims are significant because investigators and the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry have been examining allegations of improper relationships between police officials, businesspeople and individuals facing criminal investigations.
Madlanga Commission wants Cabonge’s statement
The PKTT investigation is not the only development involving Cabonge.
On 13 October, the Madlanga Commission announced that it intended to obtain a statement from him following the recording played during Sibiya’s bail proceedings.
Commission spokesperson Jeremy Michaels said: “The Commission will engage with Mr Cabonge and obtain his statement as part of its broad investigation into matters falling within its terms of reference and his mention of the Commission in the recording.”
The commission said it would not comment further at that stage.
The inquiry was established to investigate alleged criminality, corruption and political interference within South Africa’s criminal justice system. Its hearings have brought renewed public attention to allegations concerning police officials, private business interests and the possible misuse of positions of authority.
Cabonge’s remarks are relevant to the commission because he referred to a person he claimed was connected to its proceedings and described how he allegedly helped that person’s family with a criminal case.
The commission has not publicly established that the alleged intervention was unlawful, nor has it identified the person referred to in the recording.
What happens next?
The investigation places Cabonge under increased scrutiny as authorities seek to establish the circumstances behind his claims and the nature of his alleged connections.
The key questions are whether his account of the withdrawn charges can be independently verified, whether any police official improperly influenced the matter, and whether further evidence supports the claims made in the recording.
