PRETORIA - Controversial businessman and self-proclaimed state agent Brown Mogotsi has admitted to previously lying under oath, insisting it was part of his duties.
Mogotsi made the admission on Thursday during day three of his testimony at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, after Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga questioned his respect for the oath he had taken.
Madlanga said he had a "fundamental problem" with Mogotsi's testimony so far, particularly concerning how he values or does not value an oath.
The commissioner referenced an affidavit in which Mogotsi claimed he worked for government in the office of the minister of police, a statement Mogotsi has acknowledged was false and made under oath.
Pressed on whether an oath is binding on his conscience, Mogotsi agreed that it is.
READ| Expert: If Mogotsi is an 'informer', his behaviour is contrary to SAPS regulation
However, he maintained that he lied "for the purpose of the mission he was undertaking".
The political middleman insisted that, as a "state agent", he has reasons to lie under oath, though he has not presented any evidence to support his claim of working for the state.
"When I came to this commission, I never said I’m a high priest. I said I am a state agent and I have a way to use false evidence,” he said.
“This is my job. An agent is not a policeman who will obtain a statement that can be presented here. I will give intelligence information that must be converted to evidence that the commission wants."
Crime researcher and expert, Thabang Bogopa, said the fact that Mogotsi alleges that he was an informer for 25 years needs to be investigated.
Bogopa added that informers become dormant over time and said it's impossible that Mogotsi could have been active for this long.