Mogotsi under fire for unverified claims at Madlanga Commission

Commissioner, Advocate Sesi Baloyi, warned that the commission risks acting “irresponsibly and reckless” if it allows untested claims to be treated as fact.

Mogotsi, who has testified at length about alleged political interference and corruption within crime intelligence and the KwaZulu-Natal Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), admitted on Wednesday under cross-examination that much of his testimony is not backed by proof.

Baloyi confronted Mogotsi over several high-profile allegations, including claims that senior officials received payments at a private residence and that political actors influenced police investigations.

Baloyi stressed that Mogotsi has produced no affidavits, no documents, and no verifiable research  to support the claims he is presenting to the inquiry.

She told him firmly: "We don’t have facts. We are a fact-finding body as a commission. You are making statements… none of which is backed up by any investigation on your part that you can produce the facts to us and say, here’s proof.”

Baloyi added that the commission could not simply accept serious accusations without evidence.

"I’m concerned that we may well be grossly irresponsible and reckless as a commission, that we’ve given you a platform where you’re making all these statements and you present them as facts.”

She pressed Mogotsi on whether he accepted that his testimony lacked factual backing.

Mogotsi replied simply "I accept that, Commissioner.”

Baloyi further challenged how Mogotsi believed unverified accounts would assist the inquiry’s mandate.

 She pointed out that even basic checks were not done, such as confirming whether a property allegedly used for payments belonged to the official accused.

Mogotsi: ‘I am here to tell what I know’

Mogotsi defended himself, arguing that it was the commission’s duty to investigate further once he shared what he knew.

"If the commission is a fact-finding body and I give you information, I’m giving it so the commission can investigate.”

He insisted that his claims were based on what he was told by sources, including police officers and associates within crime intelligence structures.

However, Baloyi reminded him that the commission could not fill evidentiary gaps on his behalf.

"We have only your say-so… none of this is backed up by facts or even basic investigation on your part.”

Mogotsi widens allegations: political misuse of PKTT

Earlier in the day, cross-examination focused on Mogotsi’s broader claim that the PKTT, formed to deal with political assassinations in KwaZulu-Natal, was at times misused for internal political battles.

Mogotsi linked his claims to a series of high-profile police operations, including:

The 2022 search of criminally accused tender tycoon Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala.

The aggressive seizing of phones and devices from the house of  suspended deputy national commissioner for crime Shadrack Sibiya and several investigations and arrests targeting senior intelligence officers.

He argued that operations were often disproportionate in scale, allegedly involving multiple vehicles and nighttime raids for relatively small seizures.

He told the commission: "You can see the system they use and the massive way of threatening people… even when they should just execute a search warrant.”

He suggested that some operations were not aligned to the PKTT’s intended mandate of fighting political killings.

"Was Cat Matlala a target because of wrongdoing? Did his situation fall under what the PKTT is meant for, political assassinations? That is the concern.”

Advocate Baloyi reminded Mogotsi – and the public – that the inquiry’s duty is to test evidence, not merely record claims.

"We cannot be expected to accept information that is not backed up by facts… That is not helpful to the commission.”

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