Brown Mogotsi’s bail application took an unexpected turn in the Johannesburg Regional Court on Monday after it was revealed that his wife, Dorothy Ledwaba, now faces a charge of intimidation connected to the ongoing proceedings.
Ledwaba is accused of going to a neighbour’s home in an attempt to pressure her into giving a false statement about Mogotsi’s residential address.
Mogotsi was previously refused bail after the court concluded that he had provided misleading information to investigating officers regarding his place of residence.
He is currently charged with perjury, defeating the ends of justice, and the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.
According to an affidavit submitted by investigating officer Lieutenant-Colonel Alfred Odendaal, neighbour Thandiwe Senokwane alleged that Ledwaba instructed her to alter her statement and claim that her house number matched Ledwaba’s.
Senokwane further told investigators that she felt intimidated, stating that this was the third time Ledwaba had approached her to pressure her into making a false declaration.
A case of intimidation was opened the day after Mogotsi was denied bail.
In separate affidavits submitted to court, investigating officers Lieutenant-Colonel Odendaal and Lieutenant-Colonel Nontobeko Mzizi disputed Mogotsi’s assertion that police ignored information that allegedly supported his claimed residential address.
Mogotsi maintains that Thandiwe’s son, Maxwell Senokwane, pointed out his residence to officers and informed them that he stayed three houses away from where police were interviewing witnesses.
However, both officers rejected this account.
Odendaal stated in his affidavit that Maxwell was not present when police took a statement from his mother, and further denied that officers were ever told or shown that Mogotsi lived three houses away from the location where interviews were conducted
