Former North West ANC treasurer turned businessman Suliman Carrim has been granted bail in his attempt to defeat the ends of justice case because he is still facing trial in another court case linked to alleged vehicle smuggling.
Carrim was arrested two weeks ago while allegedly attempting to board an international flight, after he failed to honour subpoenas to return to the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry to continue his testimony.
His legal team had previously told the Commission that he was too ill to testify.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Magistrate Marc Curlewis said the State had failed to prove that Carrim would abscond or undermine the justice system if released.
The court acknowledged that his previous failure to appear before the Commission was concerning, but said that could not be used to predetermine his guilt in the current criminal matter.
“Although the applicant’s previous non-attendance before the commission is concerning, the court must not determine his guilt in the present proceedings through bail application,” Curlewis said.
“Having weighed the interest of justice against the applicant’s rights to personal freedom and the prejudice likely to arise from continued detention, the court finds that the identified risks can be sufficiently addressed through appropriate bail conditions.”
The ruling came after the State last week asked for a postponement, citing a congested court roll.
Carrim’s lawyer, JP Venter, pushed back and insisted on his client’s right to apply for bail at first appearance.
“This court needs to make an obvious decision now, my learned friend’s application and my address, make a decision if the court is going to wait and see if there’s a gap for us. But we are willing to wait… we are ready to proceed today with this bail application,” Venter argued.
The bail victory is only a temporary reprieve for the politically connected businessman.
Carrim is facing mounting legal pressure on two fronts.
He faces charges of attempting to defeat the ends of justice in connection with his non-appearance before the Madlanga Commission, which is probing alleged political interference and criminality within the South African Police Service.
At the same time, he has been linked to a separate criminal case involving an alleged attempt to smuggle two vehicles through the Beitbridge border post in July.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Carrim has now been charged alongside two other suspects who were arrested while allegedly trying to cross into Zimbabwe via Beitbridge.
Preliminary investigations indicate the vehicles were being transported from Mahikeng towards the border.
He and his alleged accomplices face charges of attempted theft of motor vehicles, fraud and uttering.
The Beitbridge case adds to Carrim’s growing list of entanglements with the law. He is a key witness before the Madlanga Commission, where his testimony is considered crucial to understanding alleged procurement irregularities and the flow of money linked to SAPS contracts.
His failure to return to the Commission after falling ill, followed by his arrest at the country’s busiest international airport, raised serious questions about whether he was attempting to flee the country.
The court, however, was not convinced that continued detention was warranted.
Wednesday’s judgment means Carrim will await trial as a free man, albeit under tight monitoring.
The Madlanga Commission has already warned that it will not tolerate witnesses who evade subpoenas, as it races to conclude its inquiry into what it has described as systemic rot within the police service.
