Brown Mogotsi’s legal team says they were caught off guard by his arrest, claiming they were never informed that police intended to detain him.
Mogotsi was arrested on Friday evening for allegedly staging an assassination attempt in Vosloorus, shortly after concluding his testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
The arrest was reportedly carried out by a South African Police Service multidisciplinary team, marking a dramatic turn in a case that first emerged in November 2025, when Mogotsi claimed unknown gunmen had tried to kill him in Vosloorus.
At the time, Mogotsi alleged that he survived unharmed after a hail of bullets struck his vehicle. However, a witness reportedly disputed his version of events, alleging that Mogotsi had shot at his own vehicle.
Mogotsi’s legal representative, Makau William Sekgatja of Radasi Sekgatja Inc, said the arrest came as a complete surprise.
“We were never alerted to this particular arrest. We have always been available to bring our client before members of the police should they have needed him in relation to any investigation,” Sekgatja said.
He added that the legal team only became aware of the arrest through social media.
“After we left the Commission, we saw on Twitter that our client had been arrested, and we had no details in relation to that,” he said.
Investigators further allege that the firearm used in the shooting of Mogotsi’s vehicle has since been linked to other serious crimes, including murder and attempted murder cases, intensifying the investigation.
Mogotsi is expected to appear before the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
