A LUXURY Sandton hotel became the scene of a shocking death after Goolam, whose real name was Mohammed Suliman Vawda, was found dead in his room at around 9.30am on Tuesday, 27 January.
Vawda was the man behind the controversial Goolam account on X, formerly known as Twitter. Widely known by his handle @goolammv, he was a South African individual unmasked in July 2024 as the operator of a long-anonymous social media account.
For roughly six years, since 2018, Vawda allegedly operated the account under the cover of anonymity, using it to target, defame and threaten various South African politicians, government officials, journalists and business leaders.
According to a highly placed source, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, police arrived at the swanky hotel, located at 5 Benmore Road, to arrest Vawda in connection with several criminal cases opened against him.
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The cases reportedly include a crimen injuria charge laid by former Minister of Human Settlements and ANC veteran Lindiwe Sisulu.
"When police arrived at his hotel room, they found him lying face up with his mouth open. They tried to wake him up repeatedly but soon realised that he was dead," said the source.
Police then summoned local emergency services to certify him dead.
The source further revealed that police had visited Vawda at the same hotel room about a week earlier to question him regarding the cases. However, he allegedly told officers that he was medically unfit to answer questions at the time.
Police spokeswoman Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi confirmed that an inquest docket has been opened.
"This is after a 50-year-old man was found dead in his hotel room in Sandton on the morning of 27 January 2026. The cause of death is unknown at this stage pending postmortem results and police investigation are underway," she said.
