North West businessman Brown Mogotsi will remain behind bars after the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court found that evidence presented in his second bail application amounted to a "reshuffling" of information already before the court.
The Magistrate denied bail for a second time and ruled that there were no new facts warranting his release.
“My decision still stands. Bail is denied,” the magistrate ruled on Monday.
The court found that the information presented by Mogotsi's legal team did not meet the threshold required for a fresh bail application.
“The court has considered the evidence in the initial bail application together with the alleged new facts placed before me. I have found that there are no new facts, only a reshuffling of evidence,” the magistrate said.
Mogotsi was arrested on 15 May after allegedly staging an assassination attempt against himself in Vosloorus ahead of his appearance before the Madlanga commission.
He faces five charges, including perjury, defeating the ends of justice, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and discharging a firearm in a public place.
According to the state, Mogotsi fired 11 rounds at his stationary and unoccupied vehicle before falsely reporting to police that he had been ambushed.
His first bail application was dismissed on 4 June. The court cited concerns over an unverified residential address, allegations of witness intimidation and the risk that he could evade trial.
In his renewed application, Mogotsi argued that new facts had emerged since the initial ruling.
He submitted what he described as his correct residential address in Mmabatho after investigators previously said they were unable to verify the address provided during his first bail application.
His wife, Dorothy Ledwaba, filed an affidavit confirming the address and attached a statement from a Wi-Fi service provider as proof of residence. A neighbour, Maxwell Selukwane, also submitted an affidavit stating that Mogotsi lived three houses away from him.
The state opposed the application, arguing that the address presented was the same one already investigated during the initial bail proceedings.
Prosecutors further informed the court that an intimidation case had been opened at the Mmabatho police station against Mogotsi’s wife for witness tampering.
The magistrate said a court considering alleged new facts must determine whether the information arose after bail was refused and whether it is genuinely new rather than a repetition of evidence already before the court.
“A court hearing on alleged new facts must determine, with reference to the evidence previously presented in the unsuccessful bail application, whether such facts are indeed new,” the magistrate said.
The court concluded that the evidence relating to Mogotsi’s residential address had already been canvassed during the first bail application and therefore did not constitute new facts.
Mogotsi remains in custody. The matter was postponed to 8 July for the start of the trial.