PRETORIA - The Madlanga Commission will lay criminal charges against North West businessman Suliman Carrim.
The move follows Carrim’s repeated failure to appear before the inquiry, citing ill health. He was a no-show again on Friday, despite being ordered to appear in July.
Commission chairperson Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga said the decision was aimed at protecting the integrity of the inquiry.
READ: Madlanga rules Suliman Carrim must appear in person before Commission
He said the Commission would no longer pursue Carrim to testify and would instead take into account and file his previous testimony from when he appeared in March.
“The Commission will direct the relevant functionary to lay a criminal charge against Mr Carrim. If the Commission were not to do that, it would itself not be taking its processes seriously.
"Otherwise, witnesses will choose to come or not come to testify willy-nilly. We cannot, and we will not have that,” Madlanga said.
Madlanga said if Carrim has a defence, he can raise it during the criminal process.