Mchunu and Sibiya Caught Handing Over Fake Phones to Hawks — Digital Forensics Now Probe Swap

Hawks digital forensic specialists flagged something deeply wrong the moment they powered up the two mobile devices submitted by suspended National Commissioner Fannie Masemola’s predecessor, Sehlahle Mchunu, and dismissed Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Sibiya last week in Pretoria. The handsets felt too clean — no call logs, no deleted fragments, no residual metadata that any active senior law enforcement official accumulates over months of operational use.

Investigators now suspect Mchunu and Sibiya allegedly swapped their actual working phones for replacement devices before surrendering the hardware to authorities, according to multiple sources close to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation probe. Technicians handling the submission noted the firmware activation dates on both units pointed to recent factory resets, a detail that immediately triggered a formal secondary review.

Hawks spokesperson Nomthandazo Mbambo confirmed Thursday that specialists were conducting further examination of the submitted equipment, though she declined to characterise the analysis as targeting deliberate obstruction. The National Prosecuting Authority noted the matter remained under active scrutiny and urged patience while investigators completed their technical assessment.

Mchunu served as South Africa’s top cop before Masemola’s appointment, while Sibiya ran Crime Intelligence during one of the division’s most turbulent stretches — a period investigators believe involved unauthorised payments, compromised operations, and undisclosed communications between ranking officers and outside parties. Both men face serious charges, making their cellular records potentially among the most consequential evidence in the entire docket.

One forensic technician working the case — speaking without authorisation and therefore without attribution — described holding both handsets under an ultraviolet scanner and finding none of the micro-scratches or wear patterns consistent with a device carried daily for two or more years. “A commissioner’s phone looks lived-in,” the technician murmured, turning the pristine casing slowly beneath the lamp. “These looked like display models.”

Authorities have not yet disclosed whether they can legally compel the two men to surrender alternative devices or face obstruction charges, leaving the investigation at a critical crossroads. If the genuine phones exist somewhere — in a safe, with a trusted associate, buried inside a corporate account — whatever conversations they hold could reshape this entire prosecution. Will investigators find them before those records vanish permanently?

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