Who leads the evidence
Madlanga Commission evidence leaders
The 6 senior counsel and advocates who lead witnesses through their evidence before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry - led by Chief Evidence Leader Matthew Chaskalson SC.
The role
What an evidence leader does
At the Madlanga Commission, the evidence leaders are the legal team that gathers and presents the evidence. They call and question witnesses, put documents and statements on the record, and guide the inquiry through each case. They lead the evidence; they do not decide the outcome - that is for the chairperson and commissioners.
In practice, an evidence leader takes each witness through a sworn statement paragraph by paragraph, introduces the supporting exhibits - phone downloads, bank records, official documents - and tests the account before the panel. The commissioners then put their own questions. It is the evidence leaders who decide which witnesses to call, in what order, and what documentary record the Commission builds, which makes them central to how the inquiry’s narrative takes shape.
The Madlanga Commission’s evidence-leading team is unusually senior. It is headed by Matthew Chaskalson SC, known for state-capture money-flow and asset-recovery work, and includes Mahlape Sello SC (who led the Section 89 Phala Phala panel), Adila Hassim SC (of South Africa’s ICJ genocide case against Israel and the Life Esidimeni inquest), and further advocates drawn from the Johannesburg Bar. Each profile below sets out their background and the part they play in the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
6 on the team
The evidence-leading team
Advocate Matthew Chaskalson SC
Senior counsel
Senior Counsel Matthew Chaskalson SC is the Commission's Chief Evidence Leader - a constitutional and commercial silk who led the money-flows workstream at the State Capture Commission and recovered billions for the state.
View profile →Advocate Mahlape Sello SC
Senior counsel
Senior Counsel Mahlape Sello SC leads evidence on the Commission - a public-law and arbitration specialist who sat on the Section 89 (Phala Phala) independent panel.
View profile →Advocate Adila Hassim SC
Senior counsel
Senior Counsel Adila Hassim SC leads evidence on the Commission - one of South Africa's foremost public-interest advocates, who argued SA's case at the International Court of Justice and led the Life Esidimeni arbitration.
View profile →Advocate Lee Segeels-Ncube
Advocate Lee Segeels-Ncube of the Johannesburg Bar - a member of the Bridge Group of Advocates practising in administrative and commercial law - leads evidence on the Commission.
View profile →Advocate Ofentse Motlhasedi
Advocate Ofentse Motlhasedi - a human-rights and constitutional litigator who clerked at the Constitutional Court of South Africa and the Supreme Court of Kenya - leads evidence on the Commission.
View profile →Advocate Thabang Pooe
Advocate Thabang Pooe - a public-interest lawyer, SECTION27 alumna and former clerk to Justice Madlanga at the Constitutional Court - leads evidence on the Commission.
View profile →People also ask
Evidence leaders: frequently asked questions
- What is an evidence leader?
An evidence leader is the advocate who presents and tests the evidence before a commission of inquiry. They call witnesses, take them through their sworn statements, put the supporting documents on the record, and question them in public - building the factual record the commission will rely on. An evidence leader works for the commission itself, not for any party, and does not decide the outcome: that is the role of the chairperson and commissioners. The term is the commission-of-inquiry equivalent of the role a prosecutor plays in a trial, but without the power to charge or convict.
- Who is the chief evidence leader of the Madlanga Commission?
The chief evidence leader of the Madlanga Commission is Advocate Matthew Chaskalson SC, who heads the evidence-leading team. He took over after the Commission's first chief evidence leader, Advocate Terry Motau SC, resigned in late 2025. Chaskalson is well known for state-capture money-flow and asset-recovery work.
- What is the difference between an evidence leader and a prosecutor?
A prosecutor charges an accused person and tries to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt in a criminal court, which can convict and sentence. An evidence leader leads evidence before a commission of inquiry, which investigates a situation and reports findings and recommendations but cannot convict anyone. An evidence leader's role is to establish the facts in the public interest; if that evidence reveals suspected crimes, the commission can refer them to the prosecuting authority, where a prosecutor may then take over.
- Do evidence leaders decide the outcome of a commission?
No. Evidence leaders present and test the evidence, but they do not make the findings. At the Madlanga Commission the findings and recommendations are the responsibility of the chairperson, Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, sitting with commissioners Sesi Baloyi SC and Sandile Khumalo SC. The evidence leaders shape which witnesses are called and what record is built, but the decision on what it all means rests with the panel.
- Who are the Madlanga Commission's evidence leaders?
The Madlanga Commission's evidence is led by a senior team headed by Matthew Chaskalson SC and including Mahlape Sello SC, who led the Section 89 Phala Phala panel, and Adila Hassim SC, of South Africa's ICJ case and the Life Esidimeni inquest, alongside further advocates from the Johannesburg Bar. Each evidence leader's background and role is profiled on this archive.