Mbuyiseli Madlanga, chairperson of the Madlanga Commission, has warned the lawyer for businessman Sulieman Carrim to “tow the line” or face consequences after a heated exchange during proceedings.
The warning came after Carrim’s attorney, Rafik Bhana, suggested that Madlanga had prejudged a postponement application his client intended to bring.
After reprimanding Bhana for the remark, Madlanga demanded an apology — but rejected the one that followed.
“It seems then that you’ve prejudged an application,” Bhana said, prompting a stern response from the chair.
“Mr Bhana, I take strong exception to that. Judges engage counsel all the time to the extent that you think they are against you, but in the end you are surprised that the judgment goes your way. So I take serious exception to this,” said a visibly angry Madlanga.
Bhana responded: “If I misunderstood, Chair, then I apologise.”
Madlanga replied that the apology was conditional and therefore unacceptable.
“You are tendering a conditional apology. I’m not accepting the so-called apology,” he said.
The tension followed a complaint by Carrim’s legal team that they had received documents only at 06:00 on Tuesday morning, leaving them insufficient time to review the material before the hearing. They requested a postponement as a result.
“But Chair, we have attempted to get on with matters here. The Commission’s drip-feeding of documents, which we’ve complained about, has continued right until this morning,” Bhana told the commission.
He argued that fairness required the defence to have adequate time to prepare.
“There is an overall interest of fairness that has to be applied here. Witnesses can’t be expected to deal with things on the hoof or, in our respectful submission, for things to be withheld — whether willingly, unknowingly, or unwittingly — and then for us to take instructions on the turn at a very difficult time when people are not readily available at night due to religious commitments,” Bhana said.
Despite the tense back-and-forth, the commission assured Carrim and his legal team that he would be treated fairly during the proceedings.