The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry has issued a Rule 10.6 notice to Bejani Chauke, a member of the ANC's National Executive Committee and a former political adviser to President Cyril Ramaphosa, asking him to explain his relationship with the late taxi boss Jotham "King Mswazi" Msibi and their WhatsApp exchanges, according to published reports.
The notice was issued on 27 October 2026. It is not a finding against Chauke, and the reports we reviewed do not say that he has done anything wrong. Neither Chauke nor the Presidency has publicly commented in the coverage we reviewed.
What the notice requires
A Rule 10.6 notice obliges a named person to respond to targeted questions, supply information or submit written representations about allegations and evidence before the commission, according to published reports. Reports say Chauke is consulting his legal advisers and that his lawyers were given 10 days to respond, which points to a reply by around Friday 30 October. That deadline is reported by sources and not confirmed by the commission.
It is unclear whether Chauke will respond in writing or be called to testify publicly. No hearing date has been announced.
What the commission has heard about the Msibi messages
Msibi, a taxi-industry leader and businessman, died in January 2024. Earlier witnesses have described him as head of a so-called "Big Five Cartel", and evidence leaders have presented WhatsApp messages from his phones that they link to alleged tender fraud at Ekurhuleni municipality. He was never criminally convicted, and these are allegations that remain under examination.
The messages now at issue date from 2022 and 2023, when Chauke was advising Ramaphosa. According to published reports citing unnamed sources, leaked messages from Msibi's phone allegedly discuss state security, confidential presidential briefings, senior crime intelligence officials and large financial gains. The content of the Chauke-Msibi exchanges has not been put on the public record in the reports we reviewed, and we have not seen the messages.
Separately, former Hawks head Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya has told the commission that forensic investigator Paul O'Sullivan contacted him together with Chauke to ask for updates on the Phala Phala investigation, according to one published report. That account has not been independently confirmed here.
What we do not yet know
We do not know what the messages between Chauke and Msibi actually say, whether Chauke will testify publicly, what he will tell the commission, or whether the commission has made any adverse finding. The reports describing the messages rely on unnamed sources, and Chauke has not responded publicly in the coverage we reviewed.
