Madlanga Commission hearing record
Day 36 of the Madlanga Commission
Witness: Oupa 'Brown' Mogotsi
Brown Mogotsi's testimony spills into a second day, resuming only in the afternoon, as the commission tests his account of the R360m Medicare24 tender and his alleged role linking Senzo Mchunu to 'Cat' Matlala.
The day in brief
What you need to know
- Mogotsi continued his testimony on day 36, with proceedings reported to resume only in the afternoon.
- The commission probed the allegation that Mogotsi and Matlala 'played' businessman Suleiman Carrim into loaning millions towards the R360m SAPS Medicare24 tender.
- Mkhwanazi's characterisation of Mogotsi as a conduit who knew of the task team's disbandment early remained a live thread in questioning.
- Witnesses had alleged Mogotsi relayed messages between Mchunu and cartel figures; both Mchunu and Mogotsi deny this.
- Mogotsi maintained his denial of wrongdoing across the Medicare24 and conduit allegations.
- The extended, multi-day appearance signalled how central the commission viewed Mogotsi's evidence to the Medicare24 strand.
Full coverage
The day, in depth
A delayed resumption
Eyewitness News reported that Mogotsi would only resume his testimony in the afternoon on day 36, underscoring the stop-start rhythm of his appearance. The scheduling reflected the volume of material the commission wanted to put to him. His evidence carried over from the previous day rather than concluding.
The Medicare24 loan allegation
Central to the questioning was Suleiman Carrim's earlier testimony that Mogotsi and Matlala manipulated him into loaning millions towards the R360m SAPS Medicare24 tender. Mogotsi's responses were framed against that account, which he disputes. The tender remains one of the commission's core financial threads linking business figures to the alleged network.
Our analysis
The bottom line
A witness who needs multiple days and an afternoon-only resumption is usually one the commission cannot afford to rush, and Mogotsi sits at the junction of two strands it most wants to join - the political relationships around Mchunu and the money around Medicare24. The second day is where colourful claims are meant to give way to specifics, and the Carrim loan allegation is exactly the kind of concrete, checkable transaction that can either anchor or dissolve the wider narrative.
It bears repeating that Carrim's account is testimony, not proof, and Mogotsi's denial is entitled to the same presumption of innocence as any other. The commission's task is to see whether the loan, the tender and the alleged messaging can be reconciled with documents rather than personalities. On the public record so far, that reconciliation has not been made, and readers should treat the competing accounts as claims still to be tested.
Analysis is the archive’s own comment on the public proceedings, grounded in the record above. It weighs the evidence and the process; questions of individual guilt are for the courts and the commission to decide. Everyone named is presumed innocent.
On the record
Who testified this day
Follow the threads
Who Oupa 'Brown' Mogotsi connects to
Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi
Mkhwanazi described Mogotsi as a conduit who allegedly knew of the task team's disbandment before he did.
View profile →Alleged conduit toSenzo Mchunu
Witnesses alleged Mogotsi relayed messages between Mchunu and an alleged cartel figure; both deny wrongdoing.
View profile →Accused by him of deceptionSuleiman Carrim
Businessman Suleiman Carrim testified that Mogotsi and Matlala 'played' him into loaning millions towards the R360m SAPS Medicare24 tender. Mogotsi denies wrongdoing; untested allegations.
View profile →Alleged co-conduitVusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala
Carrim testified that Mogotsi and Matlala together 'played' him into the tender deal; money allegedly flowed to Mogotsi from the Medicare24 chain. Mogotsi denies wrongdoing; untested.
View profile →The Soweto cases the commission asked whether he steeredFadiel Adams
On Day 163 a commissioner put to Adams that 'almost every case that is opened in Soweto relating to our terms of reference somehow has Mr Mogotsi's fingerprints', and that the officer who admitted Adams to Orlando SAPS is the Crime Intelligence official described in evidence as Mogotsi's handler. Adams denied Mogotsi had any hand in it and said he spoke to him once by phone. Untested; both presumed innocent.
View profile →Alleged to have introduced him to AdamsMajor-General Andre Lincoln
Adams told the commission that the late Major-General Andre Lincoln phoned Mogotsi from his own house and introduced him as someone close to the police minister, and that the conversation was about Lincoln's unpaid pension. Adams says he now knows the description was untrue. Untested; Lincoln is dead and cannot answer it.
View profile →Zoom out
Related case files
Medicare24 SAPS tender
A R360 million police medical tender, about R228 million paid, a web of alleged funders - and a central accused who pleaded guilty, then withdrew the deal and now heads to trial.
Read the case file →Case file - Political interferenceKhan-Malema-Sayed network
A crime intelligence general, a cigarette businessman, and a political leader - the Nyatlo affidavit traces an alleged network of mutual protection spanning police contracts, parliamentary questions, and a private complainant's home address.
Read the case file →In the room & on the record
Counsel, the panel and sources
On the panel
- Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga (chairperson)