From CIA to Crime Intelligence: Brown Mogotsi’s testimony in five sensational claims

On Tuesday, 18 November, ANC-aligned North West businessman Brown Mogotsi — long dogged by allegations of police corruption — made a series of explosive, and sometimes outlandish, claims before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption in South Africa’s Criminal Justice System.

Testifying on the first day of the commission’s phase two, which allows persons of interest to respond to allegations emerging from phase one, Mogotsi opened by saying he was recruited as a Crime Intelligence informant in 1999 and, a decade later, elevated to the role of contact agent.

The Madlanga Commission is probing the “veracity, scope and extent” of allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi about political interference in crime-fighting and the infiltration of criminal syndicates in law enforcement.

Mogotsi, once a key lobbyist for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2017 ANC leadership bid, is accused of acting as a go-between for sidelined police minister Senzo Mchunu and alleged crime boss Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.

Read more: Reports link Cyril Ramaphosa campaign to shadowy figure at the heart of cop scandal

According to testimony, he played a role in Matlala’s alleged R500,000 support for Mchunu’s ANC presidency bid while Matlala was seeking protection from investigation, as well as his lucrative SAPS tender. 

Meanwhile, police are investigating allegations of an apparent hit targeting Mogotsi in Vosloorus. It is alleged that he was travelling in a vehicle when it came under fire. The car was riddled with bullets, yet Mogotsi escaped unharmed.

Evidence leader advocate Matthew Chaskalson SC told Mogotsi that, at this stage of proceedings, he would not interrogate the contents of his statement. Mogotsi was therefore allowed to fully ventilate his version in response to the claims levelled against him. On Wednesday, Chaskalson is expected to cross-examine Mogotsi.

Claim 1: Mogotsi was an agent for Crime Intelligence

Before his claimed recruitment into Crime Intelligence, Mogotsi said he had served “in the trenches” of Umkhonto weSizwe (MK), the ANC’s former armed wing, during the liberation struggle. He said that he also operated in intelligence-gathering roles, infiltrating targeted structures to obtain information.

Mogotsi went further, telling the commission that as a so-called agent, he was empowered with a tool “used by all crime intelligence organisations in the world” – a sophisticated covert technique known as legend building.

He explained that a contact agent carried no identification linking them to intelligence structures. Any official file on such an agent, he claimed, was held exclusively by the handler, who also paid the agent in cash to maintain deniability.

Mogotsi said his job was to act as a conduit between the intelligence services and either informants or undercover operatives, passing information while shielding the identities of everyone involved.

He said he was deployed to probe high-ranking police officers, as well as his alleged partner in crime, Matlala.

“Being an agent is more like creating a false life for clandestine operations. It is an essential component of spy cover identity design to withstand scrutiny and conceal identity. You create that false life so that people start talking to you. 

“I work for a handler whose identity cannot be revealed. My role was to provide information to Crime Intelligence,” he said.

Claim 2: Mkhwanazi and King Misuzulu are CIA recruits

Mogotsi said suspicions that KZN police boss Mkhwanazi and Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini had been recruited by the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) first surfaced in 2023 and 2024, when the South African government initiated action against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

“We received information that the Richards Bay area — which is controlled by Israeli interests — had become a concern, as those interests feared South Africa might halt that trade. There is a mine there. 

“The information we got suggested there was suspicion that Mkhwanazi had been recruited by the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency, the CIA, and that he was actively working for them.”

He didn’t detail the alleged connection between Richards Bay, Israel and the CIA, and could not say who owned the Richards Bay terminal, which he referred to. Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga emphasised that hearsay evidence was admissible at the commission – the only question was its probative value.

Pressed on what concrete detail his source provided to support the claim that the Zulu king and Mkhwanazi had been recruited by the CIA, Mogotsi responded: “The king stayed in the US, and Mkhwanazi would often say he was trained by Americans. That’s where everything started.”

Mogotsi also claimed that he spoke to the late former police minister Nathi Mthethwa in August 2025 about Mkhwanazi’s supposed CIA links. He said Mthethwa shared the same concerns and was willing to testify at the commission. Mthethwa died in Paris in September while serving as South Africa’s ambassador to France. 

Claim 3: Cele and Masemola took kickbacks from Matlala

Mogotsi told the commission that, according to a source, organised crime accused Matlala’s company — Medicare24 Tshwane District, which secured a contentious R360-million SAPS tender — allegedly had links to former police minister Bheki Cele.

Matlala was awarded a R360-million SAPS health services contract in 2024, which was later cancelled. He testified that the tender was awarded during Cele’s tenure as minister. He said that, based on discussions with his handler, he was instructed to look into the allegations.

Matlala is on trial for the attempted murder of his ex-girlfriend, Tebogo Thobejane, and is alleged in testimony at the Madlanga Commission to be a key figure in a drug cartel known as the Big Five. Top police officers testified that the cartel had infiltrated South African politics and law enforcement.

Mogotsi also implicated national police commissioner Fannie Masemola.

“During a 7 December 2024 meeting with Matlala, he shared [that] these people are very ungrateful. Masemola demanded R25-million and was already paid R5-million, and Cele demanded R10-million and already paid R2-million.”

According to Mogotsi, during a meeting in December 2024, Matlala vented his frustration that SAPS had not made payments in terms of the tender.

The commission has heard evidence that Matlala allegedly made payments to suspended national deputy police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya, and towards Mchunu’s ANC presidential campaign, and several other top police officers. There hasn’t been any previous testimony suggesting he paid Cele or Masemola, although Cele has admitted to knowing Matlala. 

Claim 4: Matlala was known as ‘John Wick’

Mogotsi also claimed that the feared gunman known as “John Wick” – the figure who targeted Boko Haram gang members in 2021 – is in fact Matlala. Boko Haram is a Mamelodi-based gang known for violent extortion.

He drew a comparison to the Hollywood movie franchise, John Wick, where the title character is a retired hitman forced back into violence after gangsters steal his car and kill a puppy left to him by his late wife.

According to Mogotsi, an intelligence presentation on Boko Haram was tabled by Cele in Parliament during October 2018. Mogotsi suggested this was evidence that Cele knew of Matlala before October 2024, when he claimed to have met him.

Mogotsi said, “In the messages between me and Matlala that tell the story that Cele was in Matlala’s house, it is true. It’s true that Cele had from time to time talked to Matlala. It is clear that Cele knew Matlala beforehand. Because this presentation was done in 2018.”

Claim 5: Mogotsi helped clean up Crime Intelligence

Mogotsi also ventured into allegations inside Crime Intelligence, tracing them back to December 2020 when he was allegedly approached by the late deputy national police commissioner, Sindile Mfazi.

The commission heard that Mfazi had allegedly asked Mogotsi to investigate irregularities in vehicle procurement and the handling of informant payments. Mogotsi claimed he uncovered evidence of inflated claims and cash-based payouts that did not comply with policy.

According to Mogotsi, Mfazi’s request came in the wake of the PPE procurement scandal that had led to the arrest of senior Crime Intelligence figures.

Read more: Police PPE corruption balloons to R8.5m as Investigating Directorate uncovers more dodgy contracts, suspects

Mfazi died in 2021 – Mogotsi told the commission that his death was under investigation as a suspected poisoning. 

Read more: Cops confirm probe under way into police boss’s ‘Covid’ death as poisoning and exhumation suspicions swirl

Following Mfazi’s demise, his handler advised him to keep a low profile. Mogotsi will be cross-examined on Wednesday. DM