By Thapelo Molefe
The State has accused political fixer Brown Mogotsi of attempting, through his wife and a cellphone call from custody, to pressure a witness into changing her statement, arguing that the allegations show he could interfere with witnesses if released on bail.
The allegations emerged in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday during Mogotsi’s renewed bail application, which his legal team said was based on “new facts”.
Mogotsi was previously denied bail on 4 June after the court found that he had failed to provide a verifiable fixed residential address, raising concerns that he could evade trial.
In opposing the fresh application, investigating officer Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Odendaal said he initially had no concerns that Mogotsi would interfere with witnesses, but his view changed after receiving information from witness Thandiwe Senokwane, whose evidence formed part of the earlier address verification dispute.
According to Odendaal’s affidavit, Senokwane contacted police on 8 June and reported that she had been visited by Mogotsi’s wife, identified in the affidavit as Dorothy Lekgwaba, who allegedly asked her to provide a statement supporting Mogotsi’s version of events.
“She informed me that she feels intimidated and this was now on the third time being visited by Dorothy Lekgwaba and coerced her to give a false statement,” Odendaal stated.
The investigating officer said Senokwane contacted him again on 12 June, alleging that Lekgwaba had returned despite being asked not to visit her again.
Odendaal further told the court that Senokwane alleged she was handed a cellphone by Lekgwaba during one of the visits and instructed to speak to Mogotsi, who was allegedly calling from prison.
Court documents show that Senokwane subsequently opened an intimidation case at Mmabatho Police Station. The matter remains under investigation.
Odendaal said the new allegations had shifted his assessment of the case.
“I am now of the view that the applicant can and will interfere with state witnesses, both directly and indirectly, including communicating from prison to threaten and coerce witnesses into supplying false statements.”
The State argued that these allegations also placed the reliability of an affidavit submitted by Maxwell Senokwane, the son of Thandiwe Senokwane, into question, as it supported Mogotsi’s version of his residential address.
Prosecutors submitted that the alleged witness intimidation was the only genuinely new fact before the court. They argued that the address dispute had already been dealt with in the original bail proceedings and could not be relied on again as new evidence.
While no arrests have been made in the intimidation case, the State said the matter formed part of its opposition to bail and weighed against Mogotsi’s release.
Prosecutors further argued that a reasonable inference could be drawn that the affidavit may not have been made freely and voluntarily, given the alleged intimidation of the witness.
Mogotsi’s legal team rejected the allegations, arguing that the State was attempting to portray him negatively to ensure he remains in custody.
His lawyer told the court there was no evidence that Mogotsi had intimidated anyone and denied that he had spoken to Senokwane from prison. The defence maintained that any interaction between Lekgwaba and Senokwane related to efforts to resolve confusion over residential address details.
Mogotsi is facing charges of defeating the ends of justice, perjury, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and discharging a firearm in a public area.
The charges stem from a November 2025 shooting incident in Vosloorus, where Mogotsi claimed he was the target of an assassination attempt after his vehicle was allegedly shot at. The State alleges he staged the incident and falsely reported it to police.
The court heard that investigators also intend to rely on still photographs extracted from the footage, as well as eyewitness testimony from two witnesses who allegedly saw a person exit a vehicle and open fire.
The magistrate reserved judgment and postponed the matter to Monday, 29 June.
INSIDE POLITICS
