Controversial businessman Brown Mogotsi has told the Madlanga commission that KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini were recruited by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
In his statement, Mogotsi said he had [allegedly] obtained information from one of his sources that MisuZulu and Mkhwanazi were recruited by and actively worked for the American CIA.
At the beginning of his testimony, Mogotsi told the commission he was part of Umkhonto we Sizwe, with a particular focus on counterintelligence from 1993 to 1995. He began as a police informant but later became a crime intelligence agent.
He said the issue arose because Misizulu had been living in the US.
“You see how Mkhwanazi always tells you he was trained by the Americans, and that’s where everything started,” he told the commission.
He confirmed to the commission that his source had not given any information to support his allegation.
“You see, when information came, it further talked to the treatment, which was the combination of Mkhwanazi and Misizulu, and how they treated the brother to Misisulu, Prince Simakade Zulu.”
Mogotsi alleged that cases relating to the alleged intimidation, harassment and attempted murder of members of the royal household associated with Simakade were never investigated or acted upon by SAPS.
He said this was because Mkhwanazi had intervened on the instructions of the CIA, though he did not detail what evidence supported that claim.
Members of his network, including commissioners linked to Simakade, eventually had to meet. They travelled to Gauteng, where they were hosted in Midrand and assisted in opening a case. After the case was opened, it was transferred to KwaZulu-Natal for jurisdictional reasons.
Mogotsi said the concern about the possible halting of coal exports from Richards Bay arose from the perception among Israeli interests that South Africa’s decision to take Israel to the International Criminal Court might extend to restricting trade.
“I further obtained information from the source that Mkhwanazi was tasked to neutralise any opposition to Misuzulu.”
From evidence already led in the commission, Mogotsi is said to be a close friend of suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu.
Earlier this month Mogotsi was allegedly involved in a shooting incident in Vosloorus where his car was shot at several times. He escaped unharmed.
Last month, police raided Mogotsi’s business premises in Mahikeng, North West, in what they said was part of an ongoing investigation. Mogotsi was not at the premises at the time and said he would present himself at the nearest police station.
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