North-West businessman Suleiman Carrim’s legal counsel has brought an application before the Madlanga Commission to have his testimony heard in camera, arguing that his client has been subjected to death threats .
Advocate Kameel Premhid told the commission on Friday that Carrim would be prejudiced if his evidence is heard in a public session with live television broadcasts .
“If this live television camera is on at the moment and it’s being broadcast to the public, then actually my application for an in-camera hearing is potentially rendered moot because the same people who are threatening my client even before he comes and gives the substantive evidence now know what he’s attempting to do,” Premhid argued .
He expressed concern that the very act of applying for closed-door testimony could expose Carrim to further risk. “With all due respect, I don’t even know if there’s any point in proceeding with the in-camera application, although my attorney might kick me if I say I’m abandoning it, because of this exact prejudice which has now manifested” .
Background of Allegations
Carrim has been implicated at the commission by alleged political middleman Brown Mogotsi, as well as by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and a witness known as Witness X . He faces allegations of influencing senior police officers to assist Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala’s company Medicare24 with payments in a R360 million South African Police Service tender .
Bank records presented to the commission show Matlala paid R1.5 million to Carrim in February 2025 . Carrim has denied any wrongdoing, stating in court papers that he invested R10 million in Matlala’s company and lost money, with nothing untoward about the payment .
Previous Legal Challenges
Carrim had previously attempted to block his subpoena to testify, taking the matter to the Johannesburg High Court . In February, Judge Denise Fisher dismissed his urgent application to interdict the commission from compelling his testimony, describing his approach as a “stalling stratagem” .
The judge noted that Carrim had from the start tried to stall the inevitable – to face the commission – and that his application was “yet another orchestrated part of this stalling stratagem” .
Safety Concerns at Commission
The application comes amid heightened security concerns at the Madlanga Commission. Wiandre Pretorius, who was implicated in testimony before the commission, died in an apparent suicide in February after surviving an alleged hit in Boksburg . Another witness, Marius van der Merwe (Witness D), was shot dead by unknown assailants in December 2025 .
Following these incidents, President Cyril Ramaphosa assured that security would be tightened to protect witnesses and those mentioned at the commission .
Carrim is scheduled to appear before the commission on Monday and Tuesday .
