- The state alleges Brown Mogotsi planned to escape court cells on 20 August by disguising himself as a correctional officer.
- He appeared in leg irons after the alleged plot was flagged, while his lawyers argued a new, verifiable home address should secure his release.
Political fixer Brown Mogotsi's fourth attempt to secure bail at the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court was overshadowed on Tuesday by state allegations that he had planned to escape from the court cells disguised as a correctional officer.
The investigating officer told the court that police received a tip-off about the alleged plan on the morning of 20 August.
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"New information came to light on the 20th of August 2026 at 7:29 in the morning," he said, adding that he had received a call from Colonel Masenya of the Johannesburg correctional services centre, who told him "that the plan is that he would disguise in the uniform of correctional officials and would walk out of the court cells."
Following the tip-off, police monitored the court, and Mogotsi appeared with visible extra security when he was in court that day.
"I noticed that his ankle was cuffed with leg irons around his feet," the officer said.
He said the head of the Johannesburg Correctional Centre, identified as Ms Kheswa, had ordered Mogotsi be offloaded from the vehicle transporting him to court and had leg irons fitted to minimise any escape risk. A full written report on the alleged plot from Colonel Masenya had not yet reached the investigating officer by Tuesday's hearing.
Mogotsi, in custody since his May arrest, faces charges including perjury, defeating the ends of justice, and unlawful possession of a firearm, over allegations that he staged an attempt on his own life last year. His defence argued that circumstances had changed since his three earlier bail bids were rejected, each time over concerns about unverifiable addresses.
In an affidavit, Mogotsi said he had discovered the person who signed his previous lease was not the property's lawful owner, and that his wife, Dorothy Lekhoaba, had since secured a new, verifiable address, which he asked be kept off the public record for his family's safety.
The state disputed this.
The investigating officer confirmed the properties existed but said neither was registered to Lekhoaba or a family member, and that one address had only been occupied ten days before Mogotsi's arrest.
"The applicant has shifted the goalpost by completely changing the addresses," he said, describing Mogotsi's apparent ease in changing residences as making him "a flight risk."
The officer also referenced a separate intimidation complaint involving a neighbour, which prosecutors had declined to pursue, saying it still showed Mogotsi's reach to contact witnesses directly or indirectly.
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The case was postponed to 1 September, to allow Colonel Masenya's full report on the alleged escape plot to be finalised.
