Madlanga Commission: Chaskalson dismantles Mogotsi’s misdirection claims

By Johnathan Paoli

The second day of testimony by controversial businessman and activist Brown Mogotsi at the Madlanga Commission unfolded in a tense exchange between him and evidence leader and senior counsel Matthew Chaskalson, who repeatedly challenged the credibility, accuracy and motives behind Mogotsi’s claims.

Central to the day’s proceedings was Mogotsi’s insistence that KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s high-profile 6 July press conference amounted to a tactical “misdirection” designed to divert attention from alleged wrongdoing within Crime Intelligence.

Commissioner Sesi Baloyi expressed concern over Mogotsi’s claims, which increasingly proved inconsistent and unsubstantiated.

“We should be concerned that you may be using this platform, at least to some extent… to make allegations that you’re not backing up,” Baloyi said.

Chaskalson resumed questioning by asking Mogotsi to explain why he believed the July briefing was comparable to a coup attempt.

Mogotsi argued that such an unusual media event signalled a