Controversial North West businessman Brown Mogotsi has rejected allegations that a correctional services uniform had been prepared as part of an alleged plan to help him escape from custody.
Taking the witness stand at the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, Mogotsi dismissed the investigating officer’s version that he had been plotting to escape.
The 45-year-old businessman is making his fourth attempt to secure bail after the state opposed his latest application last week.
Investigators previously told the court that they had received information suggesting that Mogotsi was allegedly preparing to flee from custody.
Mogotsi submitted an affidavit in support of his latest bail application, setting out his response to the reasons that led to his previous three applications being rejected.
He also accused the investigating officer of harbouring a personal vendetta against him.
Mogotsi was called to testify about the conditions and treatment he had received in prison after allegations of an escape attempt emerged.
Through his legal representative, Advocate Nthabiseng Mahomane, Mogotsi denied ever making plans to flee from custody or disguising himself as a correctional official.
“I have never planned an escape from court, nor have I ever made any arrangements to disguise myself as a correctional official or to leave the court cells while disguised as such. I came forward with new bail facts,” he said.
The defence pointed out that the investigating officer had conducted verification checks on the addresses Mogotsi intended to use.
Mahomane said the Johannesburg address was checked by the officer on August 17, 2026.
She said the officer travelled to North West two days later to verify another address and even confirmed the information with the leasing agent.
According to the defence, the investigating officer was aware that both addresses had been positively verified before raising the escape allegations.
“Fully aware that the addresses were positive, the investigating officer then comes with these unsubstantiated allegations,” Mahomane said.
The defence argued that the allegations were unsupported by evidence beyond what had been contained in the investigating officer’s report.
Mahomane said searches carried out on August 18 and August 23 had also failed to uncover anything connected to the alleged escape plan.
She described the searches as routine operations that were unrelated to the alleged plot.
Mogotsi told the court that authorities had never found him with a correctional services uniform either in the cells or at court.
“I was never found in possession of a uniform in court or in the cells,” he said.
He further said he had not noticed any security arrangements around him that differed from the normal procedures.
According to Mogotsi, authorities would have taken more stringent measures if they genuinely believed he posed an escape risk.
He said prisoners believed to be attempting to escape would ordinarily be transported under heightened security, including an escort by the South African Police Service’s Tactical Response Team.
Mogotsi said no TRT escort accompanied him when he appeared in court on August 20.
He also questioned why he had not been charged with an attempt or conspiracy to escape if investigators were convinced that such a plan existed.
According to Mogotsi, the investigating officer’s allegations did not provide the court with enough evidence to establish that an escape plot had been underway.
His legal team compared the escape allegations with previous claims of bribery and intimidation, which it also described as lacking sufficient evidence.
Mogotsi told the court that his legs were shackled during his appearance on August 20, but that the same measure was not used when he returned to court on August 25.
He questioned why his security arrangements had changed if authorities genuinely believed he remained an escape threat.
“If there was this alleged attempt, the same measures were not put in place on the 25th, which leads me to believe that there was no such threat,” he said.
The defence also challenged the state’s claim that a uniform had allegedly been prepared for Mogotsi.
Mahomane argued that the allegations failed to explain who supposedly had the uniform or how the escape was expected to unfold.
“It does not say who had the uniform ready or how exactly this plan was to be executed once at court,” she said.
The latest allegations emerged during Mogotsi’s previous appearance in court, when proceedings were halted after the court heard that correctional officials had allegedly prevented an attempt to assist him in escaping from custody.
Gauteng National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Magaboke Mohlatlole said the matter was postponed to give the Department of Correctional Services time to compile a comprehensive report on the alleged escape plot.
The state had previously told the court that correctional officials received intelligence indicating that Mogotsi was allegedly planning to flee and moved to stop the suspected attempt.
The investigating officer’s affidavit was also read into the court record during those proceedings.
According to the affidavit, the officer was alerted by a Correctional Services official about the alleged escape plan.
The affidavit states that correctional authorities then put measures in place to prevent Mogotsi from escaping.
Mogotsi has now told the court that the idea of escaping from custody had never crossed his mind.
“I have never attempted, Your Worship. Today I can confirm the face of Brown Mogotsi. Nobody doesn’t know the face of Brown Mogotsi,” he said.
He added that his public profile would make it difficult for him to disappear without being recognised.
“Even if that mind could come, I don’t think I would even cross the tar road. Once the matter is postponed, everyone knows the matter is postponed. Brown Mogotsi is in custody. It does not come into my mind,” he said.
Mogotsi is facing charges relating to an incident reported to police on November 3, 2025.
The charges include unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, discharging a firearm in a built-up area, defeating or obstructing the administration of justice and perjury.
The state alleges that Mogotsi told police he had been travelling alone in Vosloorus when occupants of a bakkie allegedly pursued him and opened fire on his vehicle.
He allegedly told investigators that he was forced to bring the vehicle to a stop before the occupants ran away from the scene.
The state’s case is that Mogotsi then fired 11 shots at his own vehicle.
Investigators subsequently recovered 11 spent cartridges at the scene.
The hearing was postponed to 11 September.
