Madlanga Commission | Contradictions, Carrim’s absence, and cocaine evidence dominate week of testimony

Questions over the credibility of police evidence, the handling of a 27kg cocaine seizure, and the medical absence of North West businessman Suliman Carrim dominated proceedings at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry this week, as commissioners intensified their scrutiny of witnesses and the evidence underpinning key aspects of the inquiry.

Over five days of hearings, the commission examined conflicting police records linked to the disappearance of cocaine from a Hawks evidence store, questioned the legal basis of high-profile corruption investigations, and set strict disclosure deadlines ahead of Carrim’s bid to postpone his testimony.

Much of Friday’s proceedings centred on Hawks Warrant Officer Mbongeleni Felix Mpangase, whose two-day testimony focused on the June 2021 seizure of 27kg of cocaine from a shipping container at the CHS depot in Isipingo.

The inquiry is investigating what happened to the drugs after their transfer to the Hawks’ evidence store in Port Shepstone, where they subsequently disappeared.

Mpangase, who was attached to the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit in Durban at the time and is now investigating cold cases in Pietermaritzburg, acknowledged that despite more than a decade of investigating street-level drug offences, he had never participated in a large-scale container interception.

“I have never attended a drug interception of this magnitude from start to finish, either at the harbour or container terminal,” he told the commission.

He said he had asked Lieutenant Colonel Gavin Jacob to accompany the operation because he lacked experience with that type of intelligence-driven seizure.

“I stated that the information required someone who was experienced and well versed in these types of operations,” Mpangase said.

Chairperson Mbuyiseli Madlanga repeatedly questioned why Jacob had bypassed experienced narcotics investigators in favour of officers with no container interception experience.

Mpangase replied that Jacob was ‘not on good terms’ with two specialist narcotics teams, but he could not explain why other experienced members of Jacob’s own unit were also not deployed.

As his evidence continued, the focus shifted from his lack of experience to the accuracy of official records documenting the operation.

Commissioners challenged discrepancies between Mpangase’s investigation diary, SAPS registers, witness statements, and oral testimony, raising concerns about whether some records were false or misleading.

One of the sharpest exchanges centred on an SAPS 13 register entry stating that the cocaine had been booked out “for investigation”, although commissioners heard it had instead been transported directly to the Hawks’ offices in Port Shepstone for storage.

“You took them out. You signed them out. You say they are going for analysis. We know that was not true,” Co-Commissioner Sesi Baloyi told the witness.

Madlanga went further.

“The effect of that… is that you made a false entry, knowing it to be false,” he said.

The commissioners also questioned conflicting versions about who attended the container search, when forensic evidence was collected, who retained the inquiry file, and how entries appeared in Mpangase’s investigation diary while Jacob was officially on leave.

While Mpangase accepted that he had omitted some information from earlier statements, he denied any intention to mislead the commission.

“If I omitted anything, that could have been a mistake. There is nothing untrue in what I have written,” he said.

Another major development this week involved Carrim, whose expected testimony was delayed after he submitted a medical certificate stating that he was unfit to appear before the commission.

The issue took a dramatic turn after evidence leader Advocate Matthew Chaskalson SC disclosed that whistle-blower reports alleged Carrim had been seen having lunch with an entourage at a Western Cape shopping centre and attending a separate social gathering while claiming to be too ill to testify.

Chaskalson said the shopping centre allegations had subsequently been corroborated through independent eyewitness accounts, prompting the commission to subpoena CCTV footage, hospital records, and information from Carrim’s treating doctor.

The commission also noted that Carrim had yet to provide information previously requested under Regulation 10.6 notices, including details of auditors and financial records relating to several of his companies.

On Friday, Carrim’s application to postpone his testimony was itself postponed until next week after commissioners agreed they required time to respond to papers filed only hours before the scheduled hearing.

Under the ruling, the commission must disclose cellphone geolocation records, call data, and any other investigative material it intends relying on before next Friday’s hearing.

Carrim is also seeking to have the postponement proceedings heard in camera, arguing that the application contains confidential information relating to his health, family security, and private affairs.

Earlier in the week, attention turned to the Independent Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC), where senior investigator Brian Padayachee defended investigations that resulted in the arrests of Crime Intelligence head Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo and other senior officers.

Padayachee maintained that the appointment of civilian Dineo Mokwele to a senior Crime Intelligence post was intended to “capture” the unit.

Commissioners, however, repeatedly questioned his legal reasoning and whether investigators had sufficient evidence when corruption charges were formulated.

He also defended IDAC’s decision to investigate criminal complaints lodged by National Coloured Congress leader Fadiel Adams despite a SAPS Legal Services opinion that the allegations were too vague and largely based on hearsay.

Padayachee argued that investigators had a duty to pursue further inquiries rather than dismiss the complaints because they contained leads that warranted investigation.

The commission is expected to resume on Monday with a new witness.

karen.singh@inl.co.za