Madlanga Commission | Witness M granted request to testify behind closed doors over safety fears

The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry has granted Witness M’s application to testify in-camera after the witness raised concerns about their safety and that of their family.

Evidence leader, Advocate Teboho Mosikili, told the commission on Wednesday that Witness M’s evidence should be heard behind closed doors because of the significant security risks involved.

“Chair, at the heart of this application there a serious security and safety concerns to the witness that necessitates that we move for the application to safeguard the interest of the witness that his testimony be heard totally in camera,” said Mosikili.

Commission chair, Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, granted the application and adjourned public proceedings to allow the testimony to continue in private.

“So all that I will do now is just to say that the application has been granted and that it will be circulated to the media and also posted on the commission’s website. So that means we adjourn for the hearing of the witness’s testimony in-camera now,” said Madlanga

It remains unclear when the commission will resume its public hearings.

– Witness cites fears for his life –

In their application, Witness M, who is known to the commission to be a businessman, said he feared that publicly testifying would place both him and his family in danger.

He said his evidence involves allegations concerning heads of state, drug syndicates, organised crime networks, politically connected individuals and members if law enforcement.

“The information contained in my witness statement is of a highly sensitive nature as it involves heads of states, drug syndicates, drug families, terrorist organisations, politically linked individuals, and law enforcement officials,” said Witness M in his affidavit.

The witness told the commission he believes making his evidence public could expose him and his family to the risk of being killed.

He also described what he believes were attempts to monitor and intimidate him. According to his affidavit, he recently noticed two vehicles conducting surveillance outside his home, prompting him to send their registration numbers to the commission’s head of security and arrange for his wife to leave their residence.

Witness M further claimed that he had received anonymous phone calls, reinforcing his belief that efforts were being made to trace and intimidate him.

“Part of the evidence I was directed to relay at the commission relates to the genesis of my knowledge about the shipment of drugs which were discovered, my surveillance and monitoring of the said shipment, my involvement and interest in following up on the shipment, my relationship with law enforcement officials, my relationship with the owner of person interested in the shipment, and my role and general involvement in the drug bust, in particular, my presences at the crime scene,” said Witness M.

He added that public testimony could also damage the reputation of his business.

Witness M’s application follows the testimony of alleged police informant and IT expert, Tumelo Nku, whose hearing got postponed a day after Commission Chair, Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, directed him to appear before the inquiry.

Nku testified publicly only on two occasions, before much of his evidence concerning the controversial July 2021 Aeroton drug-bust was heard in a closed session. His testimony has since been postponed several times because of safety concerns over his safety and the disclosure of sensitive information.

Before his first appearance, Nku had already submitted two witness statements. His testimony has since been postponed to allow amendments to those statements and to address new issues that emerged during the commission’s proceedings.

In what the commission described as a “Damascus moment”, Nku said he had previously withheld information out of fear for his safety but later decided to make a full disclosure after what he described as a reflective conversation with his spiritual leader.

Commission spokesperson, Jeremy Michaels, said the inquiry remains committed to ensuring that Nku’s evidence is heard in a manner that protects both the witness and the integrity of the commission.

Nku came under scrutiny after the commission heard that he, suspended Gauteng Traffic Chief Samuel Mashaba, Crime Information Management and Analysis Centre (CIMAC) commander, Marumo Magane and South African Police Service (SAPS) K9 unit officer, Steve Phakula, were arrested during the Aeroton operation on charges including drug dealing and defeating the ends of justice.

Written by: Odirile Rabalao