North West businessman Brown Mogotsi defended his role in crime intelligence and denied any improper dealings, saying he operates only private businesses and has been a registered agent since 2009.
Image: Supplied/Parliament
North West businessman Brown Mogotsi told a Parliamentary ad hoc committee on Tuesday that he is an entrepreneur whose businesses do not deal with the government, and insists that he remains a crime intelligence agent.
Mogotsi appeared in person after initially requesting to testify virtually, due to security concerns.
He previously asked Parliament to cover the travel and accommodation costs of his personal security team as a condition of his appearance.
The committee, which is investigating allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system raised by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, rejected the request.
The committee then asked National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza to issue a summons compelling Mogotsi’s physical appearance.
Didiza declined, pointing to unresolved security concerns raised by the witness.
Mogotsi has been described as a go-between for suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu and alleged “Big Five cartel” member Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
The meeting was chaired by ANC MP Xola Nqola in the absence of committee chairperson Soviet Lekganyane.
Leading evidence leader Adv Maria Mokhaoetsi asked Mogotsi about his qualifications and current position.
“I am still doing the same business as an entrepreneur,” he said. “I am an entrepreneur, but over the years I’ve also been involved in crime intelligence.”
Mogotsi said he runs several businesses, including food production, particularly beef, liquor outlets, meat distribution and manufacturing awards for funerals and weddings.
He also provides catering services.
“None of them come from the government,” he said. “It’s only a private business. I’m dealing with private businesses.”
He said he buys meat from abattoirs and does not own one.
Turning to his intelligence work, Mogotsi said he became a crime intelligence informant in the 1990s and remains an agent.
“That’s correct,” he said when asked whether he is still a crime intelligence agent.
He explained that he became an informant in 2001 and served for five to 10 years. In 2009, he said, he was recruited as a contact agent.
“That’s when I became an agent,” he said.
Mokhaoetsi pressed him to clarify when he was formally registered, noting that it was not apparent from his statement.
This issue follows testimony last year at the Madlanga commission by SA’s head of intelligence, Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo, who alleged that Mogotsi had unlawfully accessed police intelligence information to derail criminal investigations.
Mogotsi has been accused of manipulating internal processes to shield controversial businessman and alleged tenderpreneur “Cat” Matlala from prosecution.
Matlala is in custody after being denied bail on charges linked to the attempted murder of actress Tebogo Thobejane.
Mogotsi rejected the allegations and insisted he had been properly recruited.
“As an informant, that was in 2001, and then I did some operations,” he said.
Businessman Brown Mogotsi insisted he is both an entrepreneur and an active crime intelligence agent as he faced tough questions from MPs probing corruption allegations within the criminal justice system.
Image: Supplied/Parliament
“In 2001 to 2003 I was deregistered as I was no longer active. When I became an agent, I was recruited. That’s the difference between an informant and a contact agent.”
He said informants and contact agents are processed differently.
“A contact agent will not have an identity of some sort. You only work with your handler,” he said.
He added that registration for contact agents was done manually and files were kept by handlers. Payments or reimbursements were made in cash.
Mokhaoetsi referred to two affidavits by crime intelligence members stating that Mogotsi was not registered as a crime intelligence agent.
Mogotsi said one of the colonels who deposed an affidavit had been appointed acting head of the agent programme only in 2024 and would not know him.
“It is only my handlers and co-handlers who will be able to attest to my registration,” he said.
He claimed the affidavits were fabricated to discredit him and described the deponents as newly appointed.
Mokhaoetsi countered that one of the officials had been stationed at the Secret Service Account division of crime intelligence since 2015.
“That’s not somebody new,” she said.
Mogotsi responded that although the official was appointed in 2015, he might have interacted with his projects between then and 2021.
He also distinguished between his earlier role as an informant and his later position as a contact agent.
“When I became a contact agent, the registration was not done the same way. It was done manually and kept by your handler,” he said.
EFF leader Julius Malema asked Mogotsi to clarify how he could be both an entrepreneur and an intelligence informant or agent.
“I only call myself an entrepreneur because I’m selling,” Mogotsi said. “I have a small business. Sometimes we apply for entrepreneur development programmes. That’s how I put it.”
He then explained the distinction between an informant and a contact agent.
An informant, he said, is someone who provides information to police, sometimes after being arrested or approached by officers, and may not have a formal file.
“A contact agent, on the other hand, has a relationship with a handler and may receive assignments,” he said.
“You start identifying people in departments or institutions who become your informants, and you give that information to your handler.”
He said contact agents have files and operate within a structured arrangement, unlike informants who provide information on an ad hoc basis.
The committee continues its inquiry into the allegations.
simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za
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