Ballistic evidence links Brown Mogotsi ‘shooting’ firearm to previous murder and robbery cases

Six months after what police now believe was a staged assassination attempt on his life, North West businessman and ANC fixer Brown Mogotsi is behind bars and may have dug a deeper hole for himself.

This comes after the police’s ballistic report found that the firearm used during the incident had been linked to at least two other criminal incidents, one being an armed robbery and the other a murder case.

Speaking outside the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court, national police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said: “Our ballistics report tells us that the firearm that was used on that particular evening, that shot into the vehicle of Mr Mogotsi, has been linked to other crimes as well.”

In 2020, a motorist in Roodepoort, Johannesburg, was robbed of his belongings, and during that incident a shot was fired.

“The motorist was not injured, so police opened a case of armed robbery with aggravating circumstances, as well as an attempted murder case.”

In the incident in 2021: “There was a shooting in Eldorado Park where a man in his thirties was killed at a drinking spot. At that particular scene there was one other person who was shot… at that scene we had one murder case as well as attempted murder because we do have a survivor,” Mathe said.

The police, however, said the firearm used in the incident remained missing and investigators were still searching for it.

Five charges

Mogotsi appeared at the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 18 May 2026, where he is facing five charges: unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, discharging a firearm in a public place, defeating the ends of justice and perjury.

During his court appearance, the State requested that the matter be adjourned for seven days in order to allow for address verification and to proceed with the bail application.

Mogotsi’s lawyer, however, argued that: “The instruction that I hold on behalf of the accused is that the seven-day period for address verification is a very long period for this particular address,” and that postponing the matter for seven days would be “unreasonable”.

The magistrate, however, declined the request to have the case return at an earlier date.

Mogotsi’s lawyer, Makau Sekgatja, admitted the seriousness of the charges faced by his client and said that obtaining bail might be difficult.

“The charges are very serious, I won’t lie, especially the charges for possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition. We do know that those particular charges carry a minimum sentence of 15 years. However, we believe we will challenge those charges and the court will exonerate Mr Mogotsi,” Sekgatja said.

Mogotsi was arrested on Friday, 15 May 2026, shortly after appearing before the Madlanga Commission.

“He was clearly shocked, he didn't understand why he was arrested in that particular manner. He has hardly eaten since Friday,” Sekgatja said.

During his testimony, he was unsuccessful in an his attempt to have a Madlanga Commission of Inquiry evidence leader removed from proceedings. In addition, Mogotsi heard that he should be referred to the police for investigation over material he submitted to back his recusal argument. Based on the said material, the commission suggested he could face charges of perjury and forgery.

At the time of the shooting incident, Mogotsi told the police that he had been followed by unknown gunmen who ambushed him while he was driving a red Chevrolet in Vosloorus and later shot at him multiple times. Police recovered 11 bullet casings from the scene.

Evidence

“The evidence that we have contradicts what he’s saying,” Mathe said.

While Mogotsi is the only suspect in the case, the police have not ruled out the possibility of further arrests.

“We cannot rule out the possibility that he was not working alone. We are still investigating. So, this is an opportunity for Mr Mogotsi really to cooperate with the police and tell us the truth about what happened that particular evening and what the motive was for allegedly staging an assassination attempt on his own life,” Mathe said.

When Mogotsi’s lawyer was asked whether he would still challenge the legality of the arrest, he responded: “Upon consulting with Mr Mogotsi, his main focus now is for him to be released on bail, and everything else he will deal with once he is released.”

Mathe said police had worked tirelessly to resolve the case since November 2025, when the incident occurred, with Mogotsi allegedly barely cooperating with the investigation.

“Previously, when our teams went to the addresses that Mr Mogotsi had provided, they couldn't find him. Every time they went to his business premises in Mahikeng, he was a no-show. Police really went to great lengths to investigate this particular case. Even trying to obtain his statements took a lot of resources and capacity because he was not cooperating. It is on that note that we warn members of the public not to open false cases and provide misleading information to the police,” Mathe said.

The matter returns to court on Monday, 25 May 2026, for a formal bail application. DM