Reports link Ramaphosa campaign

Brown Mogotsi, once a key lobbyist for the President's 2017 ANC leadership bid, is now accused of acting as a go-between for Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and alleged crime boss 'Cat' Matlala.

- By Rebecca Davis

He is the shadowy figure at the heart of explosive allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi — and in the past, he has aligned himself strongly with the politics of President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Media reports from around 2017 show that Brown Mogotsi was a fairly high-profile lobbyist for the ANC presidential campaign of Ramaphosa before the party's elective conference at Nasrec in December 2017.

Mogotsi also appears to have knowledge of the law from the other side: he reportedly has at least three criminal convictions, including one for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm

A Sunday Times report from May 2017 names Mogotsi as the “organiser” of a pro-Ramaphosa lobby group that included regional and provincial ANC leaders. At the time, Mogotsi publicly urged Ramaphosa to leave his Cabinet post if then President Jacob Zuma would not endorse Ramaphosa as his successor.

A year later, a Daily Maverick article would refer to Mogotsi as a “known Ramaphosa campaigner in North West”, at the time taking court action against Ramaphosa's perceived political enemies.