The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry will lay criminal charges against North West businessman Suliman Carrim after he repeatedly failed to appear before the inquiry, despite being ordered to testify in person.

Commission chairperson Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga made the decision on Friday after Carrim again failed to appear, citing ill health. Madlanga said the commission could not allow witnesses to decide when they would appear before the inquiry.

“The Commission will direct the relevant functionary to lay a criminal charge against Carrim. If the Commission were not to do that, it would itself not be taking its processes seriously,” Madlanga said.

“Otherwise, witnesses will choose to come or not come to testify willy-nilly. We cannot, and we will not have that.”

Madlanga also indicated that the commission would no longer pursue Carrim to complete his testimony and would instead rely on evidence he gave during his previous appearances in March.

The decision follows a ruling on 29 July in which Madlanga ordered Carrim to appear before the commission on Friday, 14 August. The commission had also given him an opportunity to establish his medical incapacity through an independent medical assessment.

However, Carrim failed to make himself available for the independent examination.

According to evidence leader Advocate Adila Hassim, the commission immediately began implementing the July ruling. An independent specialist was identified and proposed to Carrim’s legal representatives on 30 July. After receiving no response, the evidence leaders approached a professional association, whose president nominated another independent specialist.

The details were communicated to Carrim’s lawyers on 6 August, but he did not consent to the assessment.

Instead, his treating doctor submitted a medical report to the commission on 12 August, two days before Carrim was due to appear. Hassim questioned the timing and said the report was marked strictly private and confidential, preventing the evidence leaders from obtaining an independent expert opinion on the clinical information contained in it.

Carrim’s lawyer, Advocate Kameel Premhid, argued that his client had made his treating doctor available to the commission and that the doctor’s evidence should have been engaged with before an independent assessment was pursued.

Premhid also challenged criticism over the timing of the medical report, arguing that the commission itself had set 12 August as the deadline for its submission.

But Madlanga rejected the argument, stressing that the commission wanted Carrim himself assessed by an independent specialist.

The chairperson also questioned the objectivity of Carrim’s treating doctor, saying the doctor appeared to be advancing Carrim’s version of events rather than providing an independent assessment. Madlanga likened the doctor’s conduct to that of a “hired gun”.

Commissioner Sesi Baloyi also challenged Premhid over Carrim’s continued absence, saying there was no satisfactory explanation for his failure to appear when a ruling required him to testify.

Baloyi said Carrim could only be excused if an independent medical report confirmed that he was medically unfit to testify. In the absence of such a report, he said the basis for excusing Carrim had not been met.

“We do not have a satisfactory explanation, and we must deal with it in accordance with our rules,” Baloyi said.

Carrim’s legal representative argued that referring his client for criminal proceedings would be an extreme measure and urged the commission to consider alternatives.

The dispute over Carrim’s health has been building for weeks. He last testified before the commission on 9 and 10 March and subsequently cited ill health after reportedly suffering a heart attack in April. His repeated absences prompted the commission to scrutinise his medical condition, including his movements outside a medical facility.

The Citizen previously reported that geolocation information presented to the commission showed Carrim leaving a medical facility almost every day, often for eight hours or longer. The commission also heard that he had allegedly been seen at a Woolworths store in the Western Cape while claiming to be medically unfit to testify.

Carrim’s earlier testimony placed him at the centre of the commission’s investigation into financial dealings involving controversial businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and businessman Hangwani Morgan Maumela.

The official commission record shows that Carrim testified that he had provided about R10 million to Matlala’s Medicare24, the company linked to a R360 million SAPS health-services contract. Carrim described the money as a loan and denied wrongdoing.

Other evidence heard by the commission included transactions involving Carrim, Matlala and Maumela. BusinessDay reported that Carrim told the inquiry payments were connected to a business dispute and denied that they amounted to money laundering.

In March, the commission also heard evidence about payments involving Carrim’s company and Matlala, including R2.12 million transferred to Matlala’s company, while earlier evidence linked Carrim to a R1.5 million payment following a SAPS contract. Those allegations remain untested, and Carrim has denied wrongdoing.

Madlanga’s decision on Friday effectively closes the door on further testimony from Carrim before the inquiry, while opening a new criminal process over his repeated failure to comply with the commission’s directives.

The commission secretary, Dr Nolitha Vukuza, has been directed to initiate the criminal complaint against Carrim.