North West businessman Suliman Carrim was allegedly seen shopping at a Woolworths store in the Western Cape, prompting evidence leader Adv. Matthew Chaskalson to ask the Madlanga Commission to subpoena his doctors and obtain his medical records.
The allegation was made on Wednesday during proceedings at the Madlanga Commission following the postponed testimony of Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
Chaskalson told the commission that two separate whistleblowers had independently claimed to have seen Carrim at a shopping centre, where he was also allegedly having lunch.
He said the commission was awaiting CCTV footage from either the shopping centre or Woolworths to determine whether the claims could be substantiated.
The allegations surfaced as Carrim once again failed to appear before the commission, citing medical reasons for his absence.
Chaskalson argued that although a medical certificate had been submitted on Carrim’s behalf, it did not indicate that he was medically unfit to answer questions from the commission.
He reminded the commissioners that Carrim had also failed to appear after being served with a notice on 17 June and that the commission was still awaiting an affidavit responding to its questions.
Chaskalson further informed the commission that financial statements relating to Carrim’s companies, Ziggy, Tasmika and Tamiez, were still outstanding, adding that the businesses had received millions of rand.
Carrim’s legal representative, Adv. Kameel Premhid, dismissed the allegations, maintaining that his client was undergoing treatment in hospital.
“My client is in the hospital,” Premhid told the commission.
He said a medical specialist had already provided reasons why Carrim was unable to participate in the proceedings and warned against relying on unverified information from whistleblowers that could unfairly harm his client’s reputation.
Premhid also said he had only learned of the whistleblower allegations on Wednesday, leaving him with no opportunity to properly consult Carrim before the issue was raised during the hearing.
The matter was stood down until Friday.
Premhid also informed the commission that they would be bringing an in-camera application.
