Businessman Suleiman Carrim ordered to testify at Madlanga Commission

North West businessman and ANC member Suleiman Carrim is set to appear before the Madlanga Commission after the Johannesburg High Court struck his urgent application off the roll with costs, clearing the way for his scheduled testimony on Friday. Carrim had approached the urgent court seeking an interdict to stop Commission chairperson Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga from compelling him to submit a written statement or testify before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System. He sought interim relief pending a review application in which he plans to challenge the lawfulness of the commission’s decision to issue a regulation 10(6) notice and any further summons against him.

Carrim has been implicated at the commission by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and another witness known as Witness X. He has also been named in testimony by alleged crime figure Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and Brown Mogotsi. In his court papers, Carrim asked that the commission be interdicted from issuing any notice requiring him to file a statement, subpoenaing him, or otherwise coercing him to appear, pending the outcome of his review bid.

He also wanted the court to order the commission to fully respond within three days to a list of questions from his legal team before taking further steps. He argued that the commission acted unlawfully and unfairly by issuing the notice without properly addressing questions raised by his lawyers and that he was being compelled to testify before being given a fair opportunity to challenge the evidence against him. He also sought the recall of witnesses who implicated him so they could be cross-examined before he took the stand. In a judgment delivered by Judge Fisher, the court found that the timeframes demanded by Carrim were “extremely short” and that the relief sought against the commission was not practically workable, given that his appearance is scheduled for Friday.