Brown Mogotsi has blamed home affairs for allegedly capturing his birth date wrong, which then brought on the age discrepancies showing that he was only 14 years old when he joined the ANC’s military wing.
When he appeared at the Madlanga commission on Tuesday, Mogotsi said between 1993 and 1995 he was part of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK).
WATCH | Brown Mogotsi says he was not born in 1979 but in 1977, and his ID from home affairs has an error. He maintains that he was a member of Umkhonto We Sizwe in 1993.
— Sowetan (@Sowetan1981) November 20, 2025
Video: @Moloi_Herman1 pic.twitter.com/BF4Z87Apkk
However, information at Sowetan’s disposal showed that he was born in 1979.
On Thursday morning, commissioner Sandile Khumalo questioned Mogotsi on how he could have joined the military wing at the age of 14.
However, Mogotsi responded that he was born in 1977 instead and that his ID number was a mistake from home affairs, something he said he had been trying to fix over the years.
“My date of birth at home affairs... my mother even knows it was an error at home affairs.
“I was not actually born in 1979; we have tried to rectify it. I was born on 22 September 1977,” said Mogotsi.
Mogotsi made this claim of having joined the MK in 1993 despite the fact that MK’s operations were suspended in 1990 and the unit was officially disbanded in 1994 ahead of the country’s first democratic elections in April 1994. However, he claimed to have worked for another additional year for the discontinued wing.
Khumalo then moved from the age issue and stated that Mogotsi’s evidence was not supported by anything.
“Do you accept [that], as we are sitting here today, you have not provided this commission [anything] that confirms your version that you are conducting investigations as a contact agent?
“There is absolutely nothing that supports that version.
The hearing continues.
Sowetan
