PRETORIA – Retired judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga has issued a stern warning to witnesses who submit “useless” medical certificates in an attempt to avoid appearing before the commission.
Madlanga said the commission was considering approaching the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) to confirm the veracity of medical certificates submitted by witnesses.
This after alleged political fixer Brown Mogotsi, who was meant to appear before the commission on Monday, submitted a sick note arguing that he was ill. Another witness had also previously submitted an unsatisfactory sick note.
READ | Brown Mogotsi submits medical certificate to Madlanga Commission
“We are not going to sit here and continue receiving useless certificates like the last one was,” said Madlanga.
He said the absence of scheduled witnesses negatively impacted the commission’s timetable.
“This is quite bothersome. It impacts negatively on the commission’s scheduling because once we do not have a witness, we do not sit on the day. It gets worse if a witness has been scheduled for more than one day. The commission has very limited time to do and finalise its investigations."
Madlanga said medical certificates submitted to the commission provided little details on the ailments of said witnesses.
“Yours Mr Mogotsi says medical condition. Just saying medical condition is useless and doesn’t assist us. We believe that we are entitled to call upon the medical doctor concerned to explain what the medical condition is,” he said.
Giving an explanation to the commission, Mogotsi apologised and reiterated that he was not well after appearing before Parliament’s SAPS Ad Hoc Committee. He gave assurance that it will not happen again.
Mogotsi said he had no reservations for his certificate to be referred to the HPCSA.
His hearing has been postponed to a date to be determined at a later stage.