Madlanga Commission | Mogotsi says he posed as infiltrator to spy on KZN police boss Lt-Gen Mkhwanazi

North West businessman, Brown Mogotsi, testified that he tricked KZN Police Commissioner, Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi into believing that he was an SAPS infiltrator, while in fact, was actually operating as a Crime Intelligence agent mandated to investigate the commissioner himself.

Mogotsi told the Madlanga Commission on Tuesday that he was officially tasked by Crime Intelligence to gather information on both Mkhwanazi and notorious cartel member Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.

His testimony followed earlier accusations from Mkhwanazi, who had described Mogotsi as a conduit of corruption between senior political players, including the suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, and Matlala.

Mogotsi rejected those allegations, insisting that the commissioner’s conclusions were the result of a carefully constructed deception.

“The perceptions and assumptions that Lt-Gen Mkhwanazi alluded to in his evidence with reference to me are exactly the outcome I intended,” Mogotsi testified.

“I sought to create an appearance that would enable me to gain his trust and move closer to him for investigative purposes.”

He said Mkhwanazi was unaware that he was functioning as a “contact agent” working under instructions from his handlers.

According to Mogotsi, his intelligence superiors were fully briefed on his strategy and conduct at all times.

He also told the commission that part of his work involved identifying information that could be leveraged against subjects under investigation, including the provincial commissioner.

Mogotsi said he was first recruited as a Crime Intelligence informant in 1999 and formally transitioned into a contact agent in 2009, tasked with feeding sensitive information to the unit.

In one of the most dramatic claims, he alleged that in 2023, when South Africa opened a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), concerns arose within Israeli circles over the country’s coal trade routes.

He further claimed, without providing documentary evidence, that Zulu King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini and Mkhwanazi were allegedly recruited by the CIA to safeguard American strategic interests.

“There was a real suspicion that Lt-Gen Mkhwanazi was recruited by the CIA,” he said, emphasising that the information came from a source yet to be verified by the commission.

Mogotsi is expected to continue his testimony on Wednesday.

kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za

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