The Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court has denied bail to North West businessman and alleged political fixer Brown Mogotsi, who is facing several criminal charges linked to an alleged staged attack on his life.
Mogotsi was arrested on 15 May and is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, discharging a firearm in a built-up area, defeating the ends of justice, and perjury.
The charges stem from allegations that he orchestrated a fake assassination attempt in Vosloorus, east of Johannesburg, in November last year.
In handing down her ruling, Magistrate Annalise Tlhapi found that Mogotsi had failed to satisfy the court regarding his residential address, raising concerns about the reliability of information presented during the bail application.
Tlhapi noted that three different addresses had been provided to the court and that they did not correspond with one another.
"There are three different addresses here provided by the applicant. All three addresses don't correspond," the magistrate said.
She added that Mogotsi had failed to prove that he had a verifiable residential address and rejected his explanation that discrepancies in the lease agreement were due to an error by the landlord.
"The applicant failed to prove before this court that he has a proper address. The court cannot accept the applicant's version that it is an error by the landlord to write a wrong address, as house number 4454 in the lease agreement," Tlhapi ruled.
The court's decision means Mogotsi will remain in custody as the case proceeds through the legal system.
The matter has attracted significant public attention due to the nature of the allegations and Mogotsi's reported political connections.
Investigations into the case are continuing.