The Madlanga commission of inquiry has postponed its proceedings after it emerged that Witness F has been hospitalised and is unable to testify.
The legal team representing Witness F filed an application on Monday, informing the commission of his medical condition.
Advocate Matthew Chaskalson, the evidence leader, subsequently requested a postponement of the hearings to March 16 to provide the witness with sufficient time for recovery.
The request was granted, and the commission is now set to resume its work on Wednesday.
Evidence presented before the inquiry has made extensive use of Witness F, who has been giving partially in-camera testimony.
His expected comeback to the witness stand comes after a string of legal wrangling in the past few weeks.
The witness had earlier withdrawn an urgent court application to avoid being called before the commission.
Bid to block his testimony
Through his attorneys, he had petitioned the Pretoria High Court to prevent the commission from showing WhatsApp messages that were taken from his phone and to block his testimony.
In court papers, Witness F cited fears of self-incrimination as the basis for his bid to halt both his appearance and the publication of the electronic communications.
However, the application was abandoned after the commission proceeded with his testimony and began presenting the WhatsApp exchanges as part of its evidence.
Witness F claimed to have saved the cellphone number of Siphiwe Mabuza, the nephew of the late ANC politician and former deputy president David Mabuza, as his uncle.
He further said Siphiwe Mabuza wanted him to assist with his business of selling guns; however, he did not question, report, or confirm the legality of trading guns.
According to witness F, Mabuza asked him to find him a buyer for a cache of 750 guns and mentioned package prices.
With the latest postponement, the commission’s proceedings remain temporarily on hold pending further developments regarding the witness’s health.
 READ MORE: Witness tells commission how Senzo Mchunu extracted info on Sindiso Magaqa’s killers
