Watch – The DA MP, Tony Leon’s lobbying firm and the SIM card law

Daily Maverick · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · Aug 03, 2026 · 1874 words · By Rebecca Davis

Political Ethics and Lobbying Legislative Transparency Conflict of Interest

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What to know about Political Ethics and Lobbying

Kabelo Kgobisa-Ngcaba was the COO of Tony Leon’s Resolve Communications until she entered Parliament as a DA MP.

Claims checked 13

Techniques found 2

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left14%

Center72%

Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Kabelo Kgobisa-Ngcaba was the COO of Tony Leon’s Resolve Communications until she entered Parliament as a DA MP.

Why it matters

Then she spent more than six months asking questions that helped build a campaigning case for two of its clients.

Common ground

Reporting by: Rebecca Davis Filmed by: Joel Seboa Edited by: Joel Seboa Produced by: Emilie Gambade Creative lead by: Malibongwe Tyilo Sub-edited by: Ian Wolstenholme Support journalism that protects democracy.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Oversimplification: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Political Ethics and Lobbying story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Communications Minister Solly Malatsi confirmed that Resolve approached his office on Pisa’s behalf on 1 November 2024?
How does this story connect Political Ethics and Lobbying with Legislative Transparency over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/video/2026-08-03-watch-the-da-mp-tony-leons-lobb…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Oversimplification 60% confidence

Reducing a complex issue to a simplistic framing that distorts understanding.

Why it matters: Recognizing oversimplification helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 13 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 3

schedule Pending 3

info Single Source 3

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified By Reference 1

cancel Disputed 1

help

Claim 1: “Communications Minister Solly Malatsi confirmed that Resolve approached his office on Pisa’s behalf on 1 November 2024.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the search results to support this specific date and interaction.

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Claim 2: “Kabelo Kgobisa-Ngcaba was the COO of Tony Leon’s Resolve Communications until she entered Parliament as a DA MP.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources confirm that Kabelo Kgobisa-Ngcaba served as the COO of Resolve Communications before becoming a DA MP.

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web search NEUTRAL — Kabelo Kgobisa-Ngcaba is a South African politician and communications consultant who has been a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since 2024, representing the Democratic Alliance.
https://web.archive.org/web/20241229190141/https://en.wikipe…

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web search NEUTRAL — It has been revealed that Kabelo Kgobisa-Ngcaba served as Chief Operations Officer of Resolve Communications until she entered Parliament as a Democratic Alliance Member of Parliament. The month befor…
https://iol.co.za/news/opinion/2026-07-25-the-das-treacherou…

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web search NEUTRAL — Ms Kabelo Kgobisa-Ngcaba. Member of the National Assembly.Due to the significant influence of the role that MPs take on, there may be times when their personal or business interests become in conflict…
https://pa.org.za/person/kabelo-kgobisa-ngcaba/

schedule

Claim 3: “The previous day [September 4, 2024], Kgobisa-Ngcaba had been moved off Parliament’s Justice Committee and onto the Correctional Services Committee”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 4: “Seven months before she entered Parliament, a company called Premium Ideas SA, or Pisa, had already made that argument [mandatory tamper-proof SIM card packaging] to Parliament.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence mentions SIM card packaging issues but does not mention a company called 'Premium Ideas SA' or 'Pisa' making arguments to Parliament seven months prior.

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web search NEUTRAL — SIM card packaging. Ngcaba added that SIM card packaging has deteriorated. “These shops can open a SIM card register and put it back with no drama.
https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/unregistered-sim…

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web search NEUTRAL — Cмотрите онлайн сериал «Наутилус» (2024) в хорошем качестве HD 720p и FullHD 1080p совершенно бесплатно и без регистрации.
https://kinogo.rsvp/14900-nautilus.html

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web search NEUTRAL — Government Proposes V2V Technology To Enable Real-Time Vehicle Communication For Better Road Safety.No separate univ test for entry to PhD, state makes NET mandatory. I support Hasina, banning Awami L…
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/7437-poli…

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Claim 5: “News24 reported on an email in which a Resolve employee offered to draft parliamentary questions for a DA MP.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent sources (News24 and Jan Gerber's report on News24) confirm that News24 reported on an offer by a Resolve employee (Loftus Marais) to draft parliamentary questions for a DA MP (Toby Chance).

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — John Henry Steenhuisen (Afrikaans pronunciation: [ˈdʒɔn ˈstiənˌɦœysən]; born 25 March 1976) is a South African politician who is currently serving as the Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Steenhuisen

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Natasha Wendy Anita Mazzone MP OSI (born 9 May 1979) is a South African politician who served as the Chief Whip of the Official Opposition in the National Assembly of South Africa from October 2019 un…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natasha_Mazzone

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Phumzile Thelma Van Damme (born 20 July 1983) is a South African tech consultant and activist who specialises in combating political disinformation and misinformation. A former politician, she represe…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phumzile_Van_Damme

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 6: “Communications Minister Solly Malatsi confirmed that Resolve approached him on behalf of clients after he entered government.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence consists of general definitions of communication and unrelated Wikipedia entries. No evidence was found confirming Solly Malatsi's statement regarding Resolve.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Democratic Alliance held a national elective conference to determine its federal leadership on 11 and 12 April 2026. Nominations for leadership positions were open from 27 February to 23 March 202…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Democratic_Alliance_Feder…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Dina Deliwe Pule (born 19 July 1960) is a South African politician who has been the Minister of Social Development since July 2026. She represents the African National Congress (ANC) in the National A…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dina_Pule

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+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 7: “All four active Securi-Tech directors are also directors of Pisa, and the companies share a registered address.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 8: “Over more than six months, she tabled nine parliamentary questions about Rica”

SINGLE SOURCE

The Daily Maverick report mentions she tabled nine parliamentary questions on tightening SIM card registration laws, but the other provided evidence does not independently corroborate the specific count of nine or the six-month timeframe.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Kabelo Kgobisa-Ngcaba is 'n Suid-Afrikaanse politikus en kommunikasiekonsultant wat sedert 2024 'n lid van die Nasionale Vergadering van Suid-Afrika is en die Demokratiese Alliansie verteenwoordig.
https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabelo_Kgobisa-Ngcaba

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web search NEUTRAL — She gives no communication showing that Resolve instructed Kgobisa-Ngcaba to ask a parliamentary question. There is no evidence that a Resolve client dictated her policy position. There is no payment,…
https://dailyfriend.co.za/2026/07/24/resolve-communications-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Seven weeks before he was fired, then environment minister Dion George was the target of an opinion piece offered to a news site by Tony Leon's Resolve Communications. Resolve was acting for a company…
https://iol.co.za/news/politics/2026-07-27-revealed--this-em…

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Claim 9: “In November 2024, she asked the Police Minister what percentage of extortion, kidnapping, murder, robbery and cash-in-transit cases involved unregistered SIM cards. The answer showed that 61.82% of extortion cases involved an unregistered SIM card. But for kidnapping, murder, robbery and cash-in-transit cases, the recorded figure was zero percent.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 10: “South Africa has no lobbying laws or regulations whatsoever.”

DISPUTED

One source (Protech Consulting) explicitly states that South Africa has 'stringent transparency requirements' regarding lobbying, which contradicts the claim that there are no laws or regulations whatsoever.

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web search NEUTRAL — Different African countries have unique laws governing lobbying. For instance, South Africa has stringent transparency requirements, while Nigeria focuses heavily on anti-corruption compliance. Adviso…
https://protech-consulting.org/lobbying-compliance-advisory-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Some countries maintain strict regulations governing lobbying activities, requiring transparency in disclosures and operations, while others may have more lenient frameworks that allow for greater lat…
https://trider.uk/how-corporate-lobbying-affects-regulatory-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Compliance with Regulations: Lobbyists should adhere to relevant laws and regulations governing lobbying activities.
https://arkreach.com/2023/05/30/what-is-lobbying-in-public-r…

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Claim 11: “The month before Kgobisa-Ngcaba entered Parliament in June 2024, she was still the chief operating officer of Resolve Communications.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm she was the COO until May 2024 and entered Parliament in June 2024.

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web search NEUTRAL — Daily Maverick's Rebecca Davis reported that DA MP Kabelo Kgobisa-Ngcaba was Resolve's chief operating officer until May 2024, weeks before she was sworn in, and that she then tabled nine parliamentar…
https://iol.co.za/news/politics/2026-07-27-revealed--this-em…

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web search NEUTRAL — Before entering Parliament in June 2024, Kgobisa-Ngcaba worked at Resolve, a communications and public-affairs firm whose clients have included companies concerned with SIM-card packaging and security…
https://dailyfriend.co.za/2026/07/24/resolve-communications-…

help

Claim 12: “Her first [parliamentary question] appeared on Parliament’s question paper on 5 September 2024.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the search results to support the specific date of September 5, 2024.

info

Claim 13: “This company [Resolve Communications]... was founded by former DA leader Tony Leon and is headed operationally by former DA CEO, Paul Boughey.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim is largely irrelevant (referring to DaVinci Resolve software or general definitions). While the claim appears in the original text, the gathered evidence does not provide independent corroboration of the founders/leadership of Resolve Communications.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American former politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Paul Kagame ( kə-GAH-may; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who has been the president of Rwanda since 2000. He was previously considered Rwanda's de facto lea…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Kagame

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic consisting of 50 states and a federal c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.