By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The businessman Suliman Carrim’s bid to testify in camera at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry has been denied after his claims of death threats.
On Friday, 6 March 2026, Carrim brought an interlocutory application to testify in-camera.
His testimony was previously postponed after his legal team contended that they had not been given enough time to review and study the evidence.
Following an exchange between legal representatives and commissioners, Commission chairperson Mbuyiseli Madlanga said detailed reasons for the decision would be delivered on Monday, 09 March 2026.
On Monday, the proceedings were delayed following an incident involving Carrim’s legal team and Dr. Nolitha Vukuza, the commission’s secretary.
Vukuza instructed them to move to an alternative bench or unoccupied seating not designated for her use.
Subsequently, a disagreement ensued between the legal team and Vukuza. However Madlanga addressed the altercation.
“I should put it to the public that we called all the legal representatives outside, and we were briefly advised that as to what had taken place. But, most importantly, Carrim’s legal team tendered an unequivocal apology to the commission secretary, which the commission secretary accepted,” Madlanga confirmed.
Madlanga then delivered his ruling before proceedings:
“I accordingly make the following order, the relief sought in prayers two and three of the applicant’s notice of motion, is refused.”
During the proceedings, Carrim told commission that he lost millions after funding the controversial businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala company, alleging that both Matlala and Brown Mogotsi misled him during the transaction.
Carrim said he provided R10 million in funding to Matlala’s healthcare company Medicare24, contracted to provide medical service to the South African Police Service, but received only R1.75 million in return. The R360 million tender contract was declared invalid in June 2025 due to procurement irregularities.
Carrim, who is director of security company Fusion Tactical Team told the commission that he met Matlala in June 2024 after the latter requested funding for the healthcare contract, saying his company had over-capitalised on a tender contract with the Ekurhuleni municipality.
He said he knew Matlala through the security industry and visited the company’s premises before agreeing to the investment. He told the commission that the facility appeared legitimate and well equipped.
Carrim said he also asked an acquaintance, Mogotsi, to confirm the validity of the tender contract, and that Mogotsi assured him the contract was legitimate.
Mogotsi has become a controversial figure at the commission with senior police officials accusing him of playing middleman between criminal cartels and suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu.
The evidence leader Matthew Chaskalson SC also questioned Carrim about his relationship with businessman Morgan Hangwani Maumela.
However his lawyers were pulling out all the stops to prevent him from answering questions about his dealings with Maumela, who has been identified as a key player in Tembisa’s largest looting syndicate.
It is alleged that Carrim and Maumela, along with Matlala, were part of a tender-rigging syndicate operating at Tembisa Hospital.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has since uncovered three coordinated syndicates responsible for looting more than R2 billion intended for healthcare.
Evidence before the commission shows that tens of millions of rand moved between Carrim, Maumela, and Matlala.
Carrim said the funds from the pair passing through his business accounts were legitimate business transactions.
He told the commission that Matlala was “evasive” about repaying him, but he eventually paid R1.75 million by mid-March 2025.
Surprisingly, Matlala asked him to pay at least R750,000 of that amount to Maumela, which Carrim refused.
He eventually agreed to pay R500,000 to Luthagha Trading Enterprise, linked to Maumela’s sister, after Maumela claimed he controlled the account.
He testified that he paid Maumela at Matlala’s request because he “wanted to keep Matlala happy as I thought if I didn’t do that he would not make payments”.
Chaskalson put it to him that he never needed to pay Maumela anything at that time.
The commission heard that this was not Carrim’s first payment to Luthagha, he had paid the company over R42m between December 2023 and November 2024 through his company, Ziggy Investment.
He also paid Luthagha over R3m between August 2024 and March 2025 through his company Tameez.
Carrim testified that his friendship with Maumela began in 2022 when he purchased a house from him through an estate agency.
Chaskalson suggested that the payments were made to circumvent a SARS preservation order against Maumela.
His line of questioning linking Carrim to corruption and fraud related to tenders was earlier objected to by Carrim’s lawyer.
But Chaskalson said: “We are interested in the relationship between Matlala, Maumela and Carrim. We are interested in how the proceeds of crime move around between those witnesses. We know that Matlala has influence over certain people within SAPS. We know that Matlala and Maumela have been involved in widespread tender fraud and corruption at the Tembisa hospital alongside what we see in this case.”
He said the commission was entitled to investigate whether what “we are looking at here is a syndicate engaged in widespread tender fraud and also exercising influence on the members of the SAPS”.
Chaskalson stated that if the contract was obtained through fraud and corruption, the proceeds from the SAPS Medicare24 contract would be considered proceeds of crime, triggering Section 5 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA).
He explained that according to Section 5 a person commits a money-laundering offence by proceeding with the deal while knowing it resulted from the proceeds of crime.
Meanwhile President Cyril Ramaphosa has amended the period in which the commission, shall complete its work.
The commission will now submit a second interim report by 29 May 2026 and a final report on the completion of the inquiry, on 31 August 2026.
This extension was granted at the request of the Commission due to the number of persons who must still appear. The President appointed the Judicial Commission Inquiry in terms of section 84(2)(f) of the Constitution on 21 July 2025.
The Commission submitted its first interim report to the President on 17 December 2025 and resumed its activities in January of this year.
In its interim report, Commission referred a number of matters for immediate criminal investigation and urgent decisions on prosecution, as well as recommendations on the employment status and recommended suspension of individuals.