South Africa - Pretoria - 06 March 2025. Suliman Carrim's legal representative, Adv. Kameel Premhid, brought an application at the Madlanga Commission on Friday for his client’s testimony to be heard in camera.
Image: Oupa Mokoena / Independent Newspapers
The Madlanga Commission is set to decide on Monday morning whether ANC member Suliman Carrim will be allowed to testify behind closed doors after claiming he received death threats ahead of his highly anticipated appearance.
Commission chair Mbuyiseli Madlanga confirmed that the commission will rule on Carrim’s application at 9:30am, following an intense day of legal argument over whether the businessman should testify in public or in camera.
Carrim approached the commission seeking a private hearing, arguing that threats to his life justified extraordinary protection.
But Madlanga has already rejected the request for an immediate closed session, ruling that the merits of the application must first be argued in an open hearing.
Brief written reasons for the decision are expected on Monday.
The dispute comes as Carrim prepares to testify about explosive allegations linking him to controversial businessman Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala.
Previous witnesses have accused Carrim of leveraging political connections within the ANC to help Matlala secure a R360 million tender from the South African Police Service (SAPS).
The same testimony also alleged that Carrim received kickbacks linked to the deal — claims that are expected to be tested when he takes the stand.
But the commission’s evidence leader, Adila Hassim, pushed back strongly against the request for secrecy, arguing that a private hearing would do little to protect Carrim.
Hassim told the commission that Carrim’s upcoming testimony is already widely known, making confidentiality largely meaningless.
“Secrecy can actually amplify a witness’s vulnerability by signalling the witness is exceptional or hidden,” Hassim said.
“It may fuel speculation and targeting rather than quell threats.”
She also noted that the commission has already permitted eight witnesses to testify partially in camera, but said those individuals were not public figures.
Carrim, she argued, is already well known and his statement to the commission does not reveal sensitive new information.
“Nothing in that statement appears to place the witness at risk through exposure to third parties or wrongdoing,” Hassim said.
The details, she added, were largely aired in court during Carrim’s failed legal challenge to his subpoena before the Johannesburg High Court last month.
“For that reason,” Hassim said, “there will be no practical purpose served by an in-camera hearing.”
The commission is expected to hear Carrim’s testimony on Monday and Tuesday.
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