PRETORIA - KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi opened day three of the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry by explaining how he first came into contact with North West businessman Brown Mogotsi.
Mogotsi is a controversial figure linked to now-suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu.
Mkhwanazi told the commission that on 30 September 2024 he received a text message from Mogotsi, warning him about alleged interference in police matters.
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The allegation, he said, related to an incident at a correctional facility in Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal, where the acting head was accused of selling drugs and being in possession of ammunition.
Mkhwanazi said he questioned why the officer was detained when the drugs and ammunition were not found in her possession but rather outside the state-owned house she lived in.
Later in his testimony, Mkhwanazi said Mogotsi warned him there were attempts to “internally discredit him”.
Mogotsi attached documents to the messages, including a police letter and a copy of the SAPS occurrence book, which logs complaints at police stations.
“This surprised me because these are police documents, and a person who is not in the police service cannot have them. He is from North West but has a copy of occurrences from Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal,” Mkhwanazi told the inquiry.
He says Mogotsi urged him to treat the material with “confidentiality” and indicated he would be meeting a complainant in the case against him.
Mkhwanazi said Mogotsi also sent screenshots of a crime-intelligence document, which he believed was part of a presentation at a meeting.
This again raised questions about how Mogotsi accessed such sensitive information.
Mkhwanazi said he was left with the impression that a senior police official or minister who was at that meeting shared the information with Mogotsi.