Brown Mogotsi testifies at the parliamentary ad hoc committee inquiry into alleged corruption and political interference in the criminal justice system at Good Hope Chambers in Cape Town on 24 February. (Photo: Brenton Geach / Gallo Images) Tensions escalated during hearings at the Madlanga Commission on Tuesday, 28 April, when North West businessman Brown Mogotsi’s counsel, Makaula Sekgatja, told the commission he had been instructed to bring a formal application for evidence leader advocate Matthew Chaskalson’s withdrawal.
The eleventh-hour move came on the day Mogotsi was due to return to the commission to face further questioning about alleged corruption and political interference within the SA Police Service. However, instead of testifying, Mogotsi initiated a challenge against Chaskalson.
Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga ordered that the hearing of Mogotsi’s testimony will now resume on 15 May.
Chaskalson, who also served as an evidence leader at the Zondo and Marikana commissions, said Mogotsi’s legal team had told him of their intention to seek his recusal as evidence leader in matters concerning Mogotsi.
“We haven’t seen a formal application yet. What we have seen are affidavits that we are told will form the basis of such an application. We will have to consider our position once a proper application has been furnished,” he said.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/ED_170497.jpg "Madlanga Commission evidence leader advocate Matthew Chaskalson SC. (Photo: Phill Magakoe / Gallo Images)")
The commission’s spokesperson, Jeremy Michaels, said, “Advocate Chaskalson SC rejects the assertion by Mr Mogotsi that he has behaved unfairly or improperly in his questioning of Mr Mogotsi in the hearings, or in his consultations and calls with Mr Mogotsi outside the hearings.
“Advocate Chaskalson SC will be seeking permission from his professional bodies to depose to an affidavit answering the allegations of Mr Mogotsi. The commission will hear Mr Mogotsi’s recusal application on 15 May 2026, whereafter his testimony, depending on the outcome of the recusal application, will be led either by advocate Chaskalson SC or another evidence leader.”
Michaels said Mogotsi’s legal team was expected to file a substantive application by the close of business on Wednesday, 29 April, setting out the grounds for seeking Chaskalson’s recusal.
Chaskalson will then have an opportunity to file a replying affidavit, after which Mogotsi’s counsel is expected to submit an answering affidavit.
Once the exchange of papers is complete, a date will be set for the matter to be argued before Justice Madlanga, who will ultimately rule on the application.
Damning allegations
Some of the more damning allegations against Mogotsi relate to the dissolution of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT). The commission heard that the disbandment letter was sent from the office of sidelined Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s chief of staff, Cedrick Nkabinde, to the (now suspended) national police commissioner, Fannie Masemola, on 31 December 2024.
Although the letter only surfaced on social media on 2 January 2025, Chaskalson told the commission that Mogotsi appeared to have known about the unit’s disbandment well in advance, a claim he strongly denied.
Mogotsi has also been accused of acting as a middleman between Mchunu and organised crime accused Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, positioning him as a key conduit in the alleged criminal infiltration of law enforcement and political structures. These allegations were first made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, in July 2025.
Mogotsi’s testimony before the commission has at times veered into the extraordinary. When he took the stand on 18 November, he claimed he was a Crime Intelligence informant, a claim the commission later heard had been confirmed, although his handler has yet to testify. He further alleged, without providing evidence, that Mkhwanazi and Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini had been recruited by the CIA.
Mogotsi had a taste of Chaskalson’s cross-examination on Thursday, 20 November, when the advocate meticulously laid out how messages between Mogotsi and Mchunu were relayed to Matlala. DM