The ANC has confirmed that North West regional treasurer and businessman Sulieman Carrim will be referred to the party’s Integrity Commission following his appearance before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, even as secretary-general Fikile Mbalula insisted the allegations against him relate to his conduct ‘as an individual’ and not the governing party.
Mbalula this week stressed that Carrim’s membership of the ANC would not shield him from scrutiny before the commission, while making a distinction between Carrim’s personal conduct and the organisation.
“Membership has nothing to do with this. A person is not called there (Madlanga) because he did something in the name of the ANC. Suleiman is there for his own things. He’s got nothing to do with the ANC,” Mbalula said.
“The fact that he’s a treasurer, yes, he will be subjected to the Integrity Commission. He must explain himself.”
Mbalula’s remarks draw a distinction between Carrim’s legal accountability before the Madlanga Commission and the ANC’s own internal disciplinary processes.
However, the separation is likely to invite scrutiny given that Carrim occupies one of the most senior regional leadership positions in the North West while many of the allegations now before the commission stem from business dealings that allegedly took place during his tenure as a prominent ANC office-bearer in province.
Carrim is the ANC’s regional treasurer in the politically significant Ngaka Modiri Molema district, which includes Mahikeng and several municipalities that have become central to allegations of corruption, procurement irregularities and political interference examined by the commission.
The businessman has emerged as one of the most significant witnesses before the Madlanga Commission, which is investigating allegations of criminality, corruption and political interference within South Africa’s criminal justice system, including the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
Evidence leaders have painted Carrim as a key intermediary in an alleged network linking politically connected business figures, senior law enforcement officials and lucrative public contracts.
Among the matters under investigation are allegations that Carrim received between R1.5 million and R2.5 million linked to the controversial R360 million SAPS Medicare 24 healthcare contract awarded to alleged tender kingpin Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala before the contract was later cancelled.
The commission is also investigating allegations that Carrim acted as a middleman by facilitating financial transactions between Matlala and controversial businessman Hangwani Morgan Maumela.
Evidence leaders, including advocates Adila Hassim and Matthew Chaskalson, have relied on WhatsApp communications suggesting Carrim assisted with invoicing arrangements while allegedly boasting of direct access to the Minister of Police.
Carrim has denied any wrongdoing.
He maintains that all his financial dealings were legitimate commercial transactions and has claimed that he personally invested R10 million into Medicare 24, suffering substantial financial losses when he failed to recover the money.
To date, no criminal charges or adverse findings have been made against him.
His appearance before the commission has, however, been marked by repeated legal challenges and postponement applications.
Carrim initially testified before the commission in March before proceedings were interrupted after he reportedly suffered a heart attack shortly before he was due to continue giving evidence.
Since then, he has launched an urgent High Court application seeking to halt the commission’s subpoenas, arguing that four witnesses who implicated him — including KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and Brown Mogotsi — should first be recalled and subjected to cross-examination before he is required to testify further.
He has also submitted five separate medical applications seeking to postpone his appearance, maintaining that his health prevents him from returning to the witness stand.
Those claims have increasingly come under scrutiny.
Last week, evidence leaders presented corroborated whistleblower reports, CCTV footage and cellphone geolocation data which they said showed Carrim leaving his medical facility for extended periods, shopping and dining at a Durbanville shopping mall despite medical reports declaring him too ill to testify.
Following those revelations, Acting Deputy Chief Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga dismissed Carrim’s fifth postponement application and ordered him to return to the commission on 14 August.
The commission ruled that Carrim would only be excused from appearing if an independent medical specialist, agreed to by both parties, certifies by 12 August that he remains medically unfit after an assessment due to be completed by 3 August.
Beyond the commission’s focus on Medicare 24, Carrim’s broader business interests have also come under the spotlight.
The commission has heard allegations that companies linked to Carrim secured contracts worth between R332 million and R336 million from municipalities across the North West, despite approximately 10 of the province’s 18 municipalities being under severe financial distress or administration.
Earlier this year, North West Premier Lazarus Mokgosi also confirmed in a written legislative reply that provincial departments had awarded 10 tenders worth more than R250 million to Carrim-linked companies.
Although the provincial government has maintained the contracts were awarded lawfully, opposition parties and investigators have continued to question whether political influence played any role in the procurement processes.
For the ANC, however, Mbalula insisted that membership of the organisation should never be viewed as protection against accountability.
“If you have been called upon by the commission, the membership of the ANC or that you are a leader will not protect you. You must appear because the ANC, the party that you lead or you happen to be its member, have supported the establishment of this commission,” he said.
Mbalula also cautioned against attempts by party members to invoke the ANC when facing allegations of wrongdoing.
“There are people who commit the ANC when they sit with their friends. They commit the movement. And when they are in trouble, they think the ANC… I need to understand, where did the ANC feature in your shenanigans?” he said.
Should Carrim ultimately appear before the ANC’s Integrity Commission, he is expected to account not only for the allegations currently before the Madlanga Commission, but also whether his conduct has brought the governing party into disrepute — a separate internal process that could carry political consequences regardless of the commission’s eventual findings.
