The Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court on 11 September 2026 postponed the criminal case against controversial North West businessman and political middleman Brown Mogotsi to 22 September 2026.
The court adjourned after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) concluded its intensive cross-examination during Mogotsi’s fourth attempt to secure bail based on new facts. Mogotsi will remain remanded in custody while the magistrate deliberates on whether the newly submitted evidence including verified residential addresses warrants his release.
The legal battle stems from a November 2025 incident in Vosloorus where Mogotsi originally reported being chased and shot at by unidentified individuals in a bakkie. State prosecutors have instead accused him of staging his own assassination attempt by firing 11 rounds into his own vehicle. Following his arrest in May 2026 shortly after testifying at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, he has faced multiple serious charges including perjury, unlawful possession of a firearm, and defeating the ends of justice.
During Friday’s proceedings, a focal point of the cross-examination was the state’s CCTV evidence. Mogotsi aggressively pushed back against claims that the video clips place him at the scene or prove he shot his own Chevrolet Aveo. Taking the witness stand, Mogotsi explicitly challenged the state’s reliance on the footage.
“As I’m sitting here, your worship, I can confirm I saw the footage. It’s in three clips. Brown Mogotsi does not appear in the footage. Not even my shadow,” Mogotsi stated under oath.
The prosecution, led by Advocate Thami Mpekana, quickly sought to clarify that their case does not rely solely on the video material. Mpekana countered by pointing out that the state has direct eyewitness accounts placing Mogotsi at the scene, rather than just the video recordings in question.
Friday’s testimony also shed light on why Mogotsi was travelling alone without security details on the night of the alleged ambush. Mogotsi provided an unexpected personal explanation to the magistrate regarding his movements, revealing why he deliberately left his personnel behind.
“I wanted privacy because I was planning to consult a traditional healer,” Mogotsi testified, adding that he did not want his security guards to become privy to his private personal affairs.
The state continues to oppose his bail application, heavily citing a Department of Correctional Services report detailing an alleged plot where Mogotsi intended to escape from custody on 20 August 2026 by disguising himself in a correctional officer’s uniform. Mogotsi submitted a responding affidavit through his legal team to dismiss the flight risk claims.
“I have never planned an escape from court, nor have I ever made any arrangements to disguise myself as a correctional official or to leave the court cells while disguised as such. I came forward with new bail facts,” Mogotsi maintained in his affidavit.
The magistrate has adjourned the matter for eleven days to review the exhaustive arguments presented by both sides before handing down a definitive judgment on the bail application on 22 September 2026.