It’s a fatter braided fried pastry. Jalebi is made from a liquid mix squirted in hot oil while a koeksister has a more normal bread dough and fried like a donut from what I remember. When fried and soaked in syrup it can have a crispy outer texture and soaked with syrup throughout (the good ones I have eaten had this). It’s different in texture but similar qualities in flavour, it’s that or the memory of the sugar rush is clouding my judgement.

It wouldn’t surprise me if this was an offshoot inspired by Jalebi given South Africa’s multicultural heritage.