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By Palesa Matlala
- Brown Mogotsi has been in custody for nearly three weeks since his arrest on 15 May, facing five Schedule 5 charges.
- Prosecutors say Mogotsi tried to bribe an investigating officer, lied about his address and hid three prior convictions from the court.
Brown Mogotsi will find out today whether he gets bail or stays behind bars.
The 47-year-old North West businessman has been in custody for nearly three weeks after his arrest on 15 May, and the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court will rule on his application today.
Mogotsi is accused of faking an assassination attempt on himself in Vosloorus in November 2025. He now faces five Schedule 5 charges: perjury, defeating the ends of justice, unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, discharging a firearm in a public place, and attempting to bribe the investigating officer handling his case.
The firearm linked to the alleged incident has not been recovered. Prosecutors say ballistic evidence connects it to other serious crimes, including murder.
The State has fought his release at every turn. Prosecutors say Mogotsi cannot be trusted. They allege he tried to bribe the investigating officer, gave police a false home address and told the court he had three previous convictions when he in fact had six. The three he did not disclose included two counts of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He served two years in prison for those offences and was released on parole.
His lawyer, William Sekgatja, has rejected the bribery claim as an honest misunderstanding. He argued that Mogotsi is a family man with a wife and four financially dependent children, and that continued detention is causing serious harm to his family. If the magistrate decides to grant bail, the State is pushing for R100,000.
The case drew wide public attention because Mogotsi was arrested shortly after giving testimony at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
Pictured above: Brown Mogotsi appears in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court during his bail application.
Image source: File
