North West businessman Oupa Brown Mogotsi has made explosive claims that Zulu King Misuzulu and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi were suspected of secretly working for the US’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) .
Testifying before the Madlanga commission on Tuesday, Mogotsi publicly addressed the allegations for the first time, directly responding to those made by Mkhwanazi.
The businessman, previously described as a political “fixer”, stands accused of serving as an intermediary between Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and alleged underworld figure Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
According to earlier witnesses, Matlala allegedly contributed R500 000 toward Mchunu’s proposed 2027 ANC presidential campaign, with the funds reportedly channelled through Mogotsi.
Madlanga Commission: Brown Mogotsi outlines his background
During his testimony, Mogotsi stated that between 1993 and 1995 he served in uMkhonto weSizwe, the ANC’s former armed wing, focusing on counter-intelligence.
He went on to say that in 1999 he was recruited as an informant for the South African Police Service (Saps), later advancing to the role of contact agent — also known as a co-agent — within the Crime Intelligence division.
The witness told the commission that in this role, he received payment both as an informant and as a co-agent.
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Mogotsi described how co-agents construct fabricated personal histories used to support their covert identities.
“It’s more like creating a false life or a back story created for clandestine operatives.
“It is an essential component of spy cover identity designed to withstand scrutiny and conceal their identity,” he said.
Watch the Madlanga commission’s proceedings below:
His responsibilities, he explained, included gathering intelligence, cultivating networks of informants, and relaying information to an assigned “handler” within Crime Intelligence.
“A contact agent can thus be described as a person who acts as a link between an intelligence service, an informant or undercover operative.”
He added that co-agents such as himself did not have the authority to pay informants, and also confirmed that he operated under his real identity.
Crime Intelligence irregularities
Mogotsi testified that in December 2020 he was contacted by former deputy national police commissioner for crime detection Sindile Mfazi — who later died of Covid-19 in July 2021 — following a Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) procurement scandal.
This also coincided with the arrest of former Crime Intelligence head Peter Jacobs and multiple senior officers, who were accused of improperly using a police slush fund.
He said Mfazi tasked him with probing irregularities inside the Crime Intelligence unit, focusing on vehicle procurement and payments to informants.
Two handlers were assigned to manage his work.
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According to Mogotsi, he uncovered evidence involving inflated informant claims and misuse of informant payouts, which he said were made exclusively in cash.
“There was a time when an instruction was given that all informants would receive a flat rate amount whereas when claims are done you just a different amount.
“That’s what created a big problem for Crime Intelligence when all informants were given a flat rate of R3 000 irrespective of the work they have done.”
He further revealed that Mfazi’s death is currently under investigation by the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) as a suspected poisoning case.
“Mfazi passed away in 2021 and immediately my handler instructed me to lay low.”
Claims regarding CIA involvement
Mogotsi testified that in December 2023 — when the South African government accused Israel of genocide before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) — concerns surfaced that authorities might restrict operations in a Richards Bay area allegedly “controlled by this Israeli interests” for mining activities.
He said it was during this period that one of his sources expressed a “real suspicion” that both Mkhwanazi and King Misuzulu were connected to the CIA, although no direct evidence was provided.
He informed the commission that Mkhwanazi had acknowledged receiving training in the US, while the Zulu monarch also studied there.
Mogotsi, in his affidavit, claimed that both men were enlisted specifically to “protect Western interests”.
He alleged that part of the KZN police commissioner’s supposed CIA-linked mandate involved deploying members of the political killings task team (PKTT) to “harass and intimidate” members of the Zulu royal house associated with Prince Phakade.
He alleged that “a number of cases” were opened against Mkhwanazi and the PKTT for this conduct, but these were never investigated because of the KZN police commissioner’s “intervention”.
“We also have the case number mentioned here.”
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