Madlanga Commission has dismissed Brown Mogotsi’s attempt to remove evidence leader Adv. Matthew Chaskalson, after claims that Chaskalson promised him immunity for implicating North West businessman Suliman Carrim.
“The matter is dismissed,” Commission chair, Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga ruled on Friday, adding that reasons for the decision would be provided next week or the week after.
The ruling came after Mogotsi’s legal team withdrew allegations that Chaskalson promised to protect him if he implicated North West businessman Suliman Carrim.
Mogotsi, who described himself as a police agent, had accused Chaskalson of trying to convince him to “throw” Carrim under the bus in exchange for assistance from the commission’s evidence leader.
His lawyers argued that the alleged conduct showed bias and justified Chaskalson’s recusal from the inquiry.
But the application quickly lost momentum when commissioners questioned why there was no proof of the alleged immunity offer in the WhatsApp messages and documents submitted before the commission.
Adv. Nthabiseng Mohomane, representing Mogotsi, was pressed to explain the serious accusation.
“Because this is a serious allegation that you have made, and if it is not in the papers, I’m going to ask that you withdraw because it is quite a damaging allegation,” a commissioner said during the hearing.
Mohomane later conceded there was no evidence supporting the claim.
“I will retract that and say an impression was created,” she told the commission.
In another setback for Mogotsi, his legal team also admitted that he was the one who first contacted Chaskalson, claiming to have information about Carrim.
The dismissal means Chaskalson will now continue as evidence leader and will directly lead Mogotsi’s testimony before the commission.
Earlier on Friday, evidence leader adv. Adila Hassim accused Mogotsi of allegedly tampering with WhatsApp conversations exchanged with evidence leader Matthew Chaskalson.
Hassim told the inquiry that evidence submitted by Mogotsi allegedly concealed the deletion of messages and call records from the exchanges, raising serious concerns about the integrity of the material presented.
She further recommended that Mogotsi be referred for investigation on possible charges of perjury and forgery.
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