Johannesburg – Political fixer Oupa Brown Mogotsi will remain in custody after the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court rejected his fourth bid for bail.
Magistrate Annelise Tlhapi dismissed the application on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, finding that concerns over Mogotsi’s residential addresses and the alleged risk of him fleeing had not been adequately addressed.
A key issue was the different addresses Mogotsi had provided in previous bail applications. The court noted that he had failed to disclose a Johannesburg rental address, while also presenting a new address in Mmabatho.
Tlhapi said there was “nothing tying or binding him to the said address”, as Mogotsi had remained in custody while his wife moved into the property.
BREAKING NEWS | Alleged political fixer Brown Mogotsi has been denied bail for the fourth time. pic.twitter.com/mDGm6BCF4a
— SABC News (@SABCNews) September 22, 2026
The magistrate also rejected Mogotsi’s claim that investigating officer Alfred Odendaal had a personal vendetta against him.
“The applicant’s allegation that the investigating officer bears a personal vendetta against him and routinely makes false allegations is farfetched and unsupported by any evidence,” Tlhapi said.
The court also considered allegations that Mogotsi had planned to escape from custody by disguising himself as a correctional services official. Mogotsi denied the allegations, but Tlhapi said the court could not “ignore or overlook” information relating to a possible escape risk.
“The court found that the applicant cannot be trusted,” Tlhapi said, adding that he had failed to provide “a reliable and provable residential address”.
[BREAKING NEWS] Brown Mogotsi’s fourth bail bid dismissed. He’s in custody for an alleged staged assassination attempt.#Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/T8cyjYZt4L
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) September 22, 2026
Mogotsi’s case was postponed to 1 October for the arrangement of a trial date.
He faces charges including defeating the ends of justice, perjury, unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, and discharging a firearm in a public or municipal area. The charges stem from allegations that he staged his own attempted assassination in Vosloorus in November 2025, which he has denied.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
