GUGU LOURIE

A silent war is eating away at CellSaf. This is not a fight with bullets; it is a fight with papers, directors and dark tricks.

CellSaf used to be a proud broad-based BEE partner of Cell C. Lately it seems some entities want them gone, and CellSaf has already gone to court to keep the wolves away from the door.

In a matter filed in October last year, CellSaf is taking on:

the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa);
its chair;
its parent, Cell C;
The Prepaid Company (TPC); and
holding firm Blu Label (Blu).

CellSaf argues that its shares were hijacked during Cell C’s recapitalisation. CellSaf wanted the court to revisit the transfer of Cell C’s empowerment licences to TPC.

The case almost stopped Cell C from listing on the JSE in November 2025. The case, which potentially creates a litigation tax, may cause Cell C to struggle to pay its first dividend, expected in 2027. So what is Cell C’s plan to overcome this hurdle?

It appears Cell C, TPC and Blu have found a new way to get around the quagmire: Sisonke Growth Partners. This BEE special-purpose vehicle was registered on November 4 last year — just days before Cell C’s listing. Sisonke Growth Partners is Cell C’s BEE partner.

The owners are:

Fordside Enterprises (the sole shareholder being Ebrahim Ghood);
Sangrilor (beneficial owners are Shaheen Bawa, Cassim Bawa, Tariq Jason Bawa, Aniqa Lydia Bawa and Shaala Katarina Bawa); and
Nubridge Capital (the sole shareholder is Joanna Mostert).

In Cell C’s pre-listing statement, issued on November 13 2025, they stated that all are BEE entities and are “credible parties and have been trusted partners to Blu for a significant period of time”. But here’s the strange thing: one of the partners, Shaheen Bawa, was a director of CellSaf when the share dilution happened. Bawa is still a shareholder of CellSaf.

It seems there is a strategy to see off the ghost of CellSaf from Cell C by destabilising it. As it stands, CellSaf insists it is the rightful owner of the original licence — the crown jewels, the spectrum, worth billions of rand

Joe Mthimunye, the current Cell C chair, together with Bawa, was one of the founding directors of Sangrilor. Now both are on the other side, with Bawa seemingly double-dipping.

How long has Bawa been a “trusted partner” to Blu? And what does this mean for the rest of CellSaf?

Yusuf Mohammed, an existing shareholder of CellSaf and a former director of Sangrilor, was also once a board member of Blu. Interestingly, he joined the Blu board in August 2015, just months before the announcement of the recapitalisation.

How did all this happen? Why not rural women? Why not traditional leaders and their communities? Why not military veterans and other broad entities represented by CellSaf? Where is the broad-based structure that includes coloureds and Africans?

In that regard, Sisonke appears to be a token BEE. Worse, TPC and Blu did not pay CellSaf for their shares, despite it paying about R1.4bn for its stake in 2005. Instead, they offered R2.4bn in vendor financing to Sisonke for a 20% direct stake in Cell C. That money gives value to CellSaf’s shares.

Cell C knows its headache is not going away. In February 2026, Chippy Shaik — the brother of controversial businessman Shabir Shaik — loaded the CellSaf board with new directors, as registered by the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC).

But here is the rot. Insiders say the company secretary did not complete the CIPC registration. There is no board resolution, no shareholder approval, and no mandate. So how did CIPC approve them? If the law was not followed, why not?

Shaik appears to be initiating a shareholder revolt. Insiders say he wants certain directors removed from CellSaf, especially those who have been fighting TPC and Blu for the company’s shares in Cell C for more than a decade.

It seems there is a strategy to see off the ghost of CellSaf from Cell C by destabilising it. As it stands, CellSaf insists it is the rightful owner of the original licence — the crown jewels, the spectrum, worth billions of rand.

If Blu has stripped the company of its most valuable assets, then what do the new shareholders own? An empty shell.

The answer writes itself. It seems to be sabotage. If it is true, then those who approved Sisonke as a true B-BBEE partner for Cell C must hang their heads in shame.

Here’s what you must remember: The late former minister of communications, Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, facilitated the B-BBEE shareholding of CellSaf in Cell C back in 2001. That structure was clean. It was unencumbered. It secured the licence to operate. It was broad-based. It was not a narrow structure led by Indians only.

Shame on the hands behind this sabotage — and shame on the eyes that see it and look away.