The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into criminality, political interference, and corruption in the criminal justice system will listen to anonymous witness testimony remotely and through an intermediary on Tuesday and Wednesday.
This ruling was delivered on Tuesday by the commission’s chairperson, retired Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, after the commission’s evidence leaders and the lawyer of media houses News24 and Daily Maverick agreed on how certain witnesses’ testimony can be heard.
News24 and Daily Maverick opposed the evidence leaders’ in-camera testimony application.
During open proceedings on Tuesday, the commission’s chief evidence leader Adv Matthew Chaskalson SC, said the evidence leaders and the media houses’ lawyer, Charl du Plessis, have reached an agreement on how certain witnesses will testify on Tuesday and Wednesday this week and next week from Monday to Wednesday.
Madlanga ruled that the witness who will testify on Tuesday and Wednesday will testify in a partially closed session remotely, off-camera, and their original voice will not be heard. Madlanga said their testimony will come through an intermediary.
He said next week, Monday to Wednesday, three witnesses will be testifying in a partially closed session.
Madlanga said two of three witnesses will be testifying remotely, off-camera but without an intermediary (their original voice will be heard).
He said the other witness will testify remotely, off-camera and through an intermediary (their original voice will not be heard).
All four witnesses’ names will be withheld.
Yet to reach agreement on some of witness testimonies
Madlanga said Chaskalson and Du Plessis have not yet reached an agreement and are still in a dispute regarding how Thursday and Friday’s witnesses should testify.
Chaskalson said the evidence leaders will not seek to lead other witnesses through in-camera testimony in the current in-camera testimony application.
Tuesday and Wednesday’s witness, identified as Mr X, is currently testifying in a partially closed session. His evidence is led by evidence leader Adv Adila Hassim SC and the intermediary is evidence leader Adv Thabang Pooe.
The anonymous witness is taking the commission through the WhatsApp chats between alleged drug cartel member Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Hawks head Maj-Gen Lesetja Senona.
Mr X said the chats reveal that there is a beneficial relationship between Matlala and Senona. He said Senona has an interest in protecting Matlala. He said Senona has shared institutional and confidential police information of the South African Police Service (SAPS) with Matlala.
The commission continues.
The commission was established by President Cyril Ramaphosa on July 13 after KZN police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s explosive media briefing on July 6 where he said politicians in parliament, police officers, metro police officers, correctional service officials, prosecutors, and members of the judiciary in Gauteng are part of a criminal syndicate in Gauteng, and they are controlled by drug cartels and business people in Gauteng.
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