Carrim granted postponement by Madlanga Commission despite failed High Court bid
North West businessman Suliman Carrim will now testify before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry next month after being granted a postponement on Friday.
The postponement comes despite the High Court in Johannesburg dismissing Carrim’s urgent application to halt his questioning at the commission.
Carrim is implicated in allegations that he received R2.5 million to assist alleged crime kingpin Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala in securing payments linked to a R360 million South African Police Service contract, which was later cancelled.
Appearing before the commission on Friday, Carrim’s counsel, Advocate Kameel Premhid, argued that his client had been prejudiced by the late provision of key documents relevant to his testimony.
Premhid told the commission that while Carrim had previously received document bundles running into 2,000 and 4,000 pages, the 77 pages directly linked to the questions he is expected to face were only furnished on Thursday.
He said Carrim only became aware at that stage that those 77 pages constituted the evidence central to his questioning, leaving his legal team with insufficient time to prepare.
Commission chairperson, retired Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, interjected, pointing out that the High Court had found Carrim and his attorneys to have been “obstructive” in their dealings with the commission in their attempts to avoid testifying.
Premhid responded that the judge was entitled to make such findings but maintained that Carrim’s legal team had merely been seeking clarity on which documents were relevant to his client’s testimony.
He reiterated that the commission only provided the relevant pages on Thursday.
Commissioner Sesi Baloyi acknowledged the workload faced by legal teams appearing before the inquiry but urged Premhid to find time to ensure Carrim’s statement is filed by 27 February.
Premhid accepted the deadline.
However, evidence leader Advocate Paul Chaskalson pushed back, defending the commission’s legal team and accusing Carrim’s lawyers of displaying an obstructive attitude, including refusing to meet with commission lawyers.
Chaskalson said it was “wholly incorrect” to suggest that the issues would have been resolved had the 77 pages been provided earlier.
As a result, postponement was granted, and Carrim will now testify on 9 and 10 March.
Carrim had approached the High Court seeking an interim order preventing the commission from compelling his appearance, pending a review of the decision to list him as an implicated person.
He argued that the commission had acted unfairly and failed to adequately safeguard his rights.
The commission opposed the application, warning that granting even a temporary reprieve could set a dangerous precedent for the current inquiry and future commissions of inquiry.
It argued that urgent court interventions are frequently abused and noted that Carrim had known for months that he would be required to testify.
Carrim was issued with a fresh subpoena on 23 January, directing him to appear before the commission on 6 February.
However, he only filed his urgent court application on 26 January. The commission described this as an attempt to “compress timeframes,” despite the inquiry’s hearings running until 16:00 daily.
On Thursday, High Court Judge Denise Fisher struck the matter from the roll and ordered Carrim to pay costs, meaning he remains legally obliged to appear before the commission on the new date.
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