Madlanga Commission: Carrim’s lawyers cry foul over ‘late documents’
North West businessman Suleiman Carrim has asked for proceedings at the Commission to be put on hold until midday.
Carrim’s legal team says they received new documentation on Tuesday morning and require time to review it.
They say the break will allow them to prepare an application for a postponement related to payments made to Medicare that were not disclosed in his statement.
“We’ve barely had an opportunity to consult on this. But, that said, what has been provided to us are several bank statements and a spreadsheet which the commission had obviously prepared well in advance of this morning. We’ve continuously complained of having documents kept back from us and being drip-fed. This is another installment,” said Carrim’s legal counsel, Rafik Bhana.
READ: President Ramaphosa extends period of Madlanga Commission
Following his testimony on Monday, Carrim was set to face cross-examination at the commission.
His alleged links to suspected crime kingpin Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and businessman Morgan Maumela were a key focus of his testimony.
Carrim told the commission that Matlala instructed him to pay R750,000 to Maumela.
He says the payment was meant to come from the R1.2 million Matlala had just repaid him, after allegedly owing him the money for six months.
“Mr Matlala approached me and said, ‘Look, I need you to pay Mr Maumela.' He wanted me to pay a big amount. I said, ‘How do I pay him half of this money? It just doesn’t make sense. I mean, you’re not paying me, but you want me to pay R750 [000] of this money.’ He said, ‘No Mr Maumela needs the money.’”
Carrim says he ultimately agreed to pay R500,000 to Maumela.
Both Matlala and Maumela have been implicated in the looting of R2 billion at Tembisa Hospital.
HANGWANI MORGAN MAUMELA
Investigations uncovered at least two syndicates implicated in large-scale corruption and fraud at the health facility.
The corruption network was uncovered after Gauteng Health Department official Babita Deokaran, who was assassinated in August 2021, flagged suspicious procurement transactions at the hospital.
Last year, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) raided Maumela’s Sandhurst home.
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