The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into police corruption was stalled this week as key witnesses submitted medical certificates to avoid testifying, with North West businessman Suliman Carrim allegedly spotted shopping and dining in the Western Cape while claiming to be too ill to appear.

Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga sharply criticised the standard of medical certificates being submitted to the commission this week, branding one — handed in on behalf of Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) head Advocate Andrea Johnson — “useless” after it brought Monday’s proceedings to a standstill. At least three high-profile witnesses failed to give evidence as scheduled between 13 and 17 July.

Businessman caught shopping after submitting sick note

The commission announced on Wednesday that it would subpoena the medical records of Carrim after receiving two whistleblower reports that he had been seen shopping and having lunch with an entourage at a Western Cape shopping centre on Tuesday, 14 July.

The alleged sightings occurred on the same day Carrim’s legal team submitted a medical certificate claiming he remained too unwell to testify, following a suspected heart attack he suffered in April.

Chief evidence leader Advocate Matthew Chaskalson told the commission the medical note was insufficient and did not explain Carrim’s continued failure to comply with other outstanding requests, including long-standing demands for information about his companies’ auditors and financial statements.

The commission ordered subpoenas to be issued to the hospitals where Carrim claimed to have received treatment, and to his Cape Town-based doctor, to verify his consultation, admission and discharge dates. His postponement application — stood down to be heard on Friday, 17 July — must address his hospital admissions, medical appointments, travel history, social engagements and ongoing involvement in managing his businesses over the past four months. The commission has also subpoenaed CCTV footage from the shopping centre.

Matlala’s testimony pushed to September as plea deal collapses

Controversial businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, who remains in custody at the C-Max section of the Kgosi Mampuru II correctional centre, successfully postponed his Madlanga Commission testimony to 1 September after his plea and sentence agreement with prosecutors collapsed.

Matlala withdrew from the agreement on 13 July after rejecting a court-proposed effective 12-year prison sentence, harsher than the eight-year term he had negotiated with the state. The Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court had rejected the original agreement on 1 July, with the presiding magistrate finding the negotiated sentence too lenient.

Appearing before the commission on Wednesday, Matlala’s legal team argued that testifying now could prejudice his pending criminal proceedings, and that they needed access to IDAC material relating to the collapsed plea negotiations before he could safely give evidence.

Justice Madlanga pushed back on the request, questioning why testimony could not proceed on matters unrelated to the criminal trial. After a tense exchange between the chairperson and Matlala’s advocate, Annelene van den Heever, the commission granted the postponement. Matlala must file his witness statement by 29 July, with oral testimony now set to begin on 1 September.

Matlala, who has been described as sitting at the centre of a growing web of corruption allegations involving senior police officials and politicians, faces 25 criminal counts, including 11 counts of attempted murder. His separate criminal trial is set to return to court on 11 September.

ALSO READ: Matlala rejects court sentence and walks away from plea deal in R228-million corruption case

IDAC boss’s sick note slammed as ‘useless’

Andrea Johnson failed to appear for her scheduled testimony on Monday after her legal team told the commission she had been rushed to hospital shortly before proceedings began. Justice Madlanga rejected the medical certificate submitted on her behalf as “useless” for giving no information about her condition, resulting in a full day of lost proceedings. The certificate covered her absence from 13 to 15 July, with her testimony postponed to a date yet to be determined.

The commission has indicated it will scrutinise medical certificates more closely before granting further postponements, and may subpoena treating doctors to testify under oath regarding the authenticity and severity of witnesses’ conditions. Questionable certificates could be referred to the Health Professions Council of South Africa for review.

Commission under pressure as timeline extends

This week’s disruptions add to a commission already facing a stretched timeline. President Cyril Ramaphosa extended the inquiry’s evidence deadline to 2 October and its final reporting deadline to 16 November — an extension announced on 9 July, before this week’s sittings, to allow the commission to close off the numerous lines of inquiry opened during hearings so far.

Evidence against suspended crime intelligence deputy head Major-General Feroz Khan – who remains hospitalised after being shot on 28 June – was read into the record in his absence earlier this month. That evidence detailed alleged links between Khan and tobacco businessman Mohamed “Mo” Sayed over Covid-19-era SAPS tenders, a property portfolio estimated at R39 million, and a 30-vehicle fleet acquired in a single year. Khan has not yet testified before the commission.

ALSO READ: Ramaphosa extends Madlanga Commission deadline to November