Former 'street kid' key to South Africa's police corruption inquiry on, Vusimusi "Cat" Matlala addressed some of the accusations against him when he spoke to lawmakers about corruption in the police force last year The name of controversial businessman Vusimusi "Cat" Matlala has haunted the proceedings of South Africa's major inquiry into alleged police corruption.The 49-year-old has been accused of supplying generous gifts - including 20 impalas, the weight-loss drug Ozempic and personal loans - to help him buy influence and get police contracts.In police custody for more than a year in connection with a separate case, Matlala was due to provide his side of the story before retired Constitutional Court judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga and his panel on Wednesday. But after appearing before the commissioners in person for two hours, it was agreed that he would start his testimony in earnest in September.The revelations at the Madlanga Commission, in progress for 10 months, have gripped South Africans and they are eager to hear how Matlala responds.Dressed in a Fendi shirt and Gucci glasses, Matlala did give evidence at a parallel corruption inquiry in parliament last November.He said he did not know senior police officers and politicians personally and denied corruption allegations though he admitted to having made donations for activities related to the African National Congress (ANC), the main party in the coalition government.But he has not yet been asked to address the wider allegations made at the Madlanga Commission or the accusation that he was part of a drug trafficking cartel, allegedly known as the Big Five. on, "Cat" Matlala and his wife Tsakane Matlala deny an attempted murder chargeMatlala may now be a central figure, but he only came to public prominence three years ago when his name was mentioned in news reports around alleged tender irregularities at a state hospital - though he said he had nothing to do with the tender.What little is known about his early life is based on what he told parliament last year.He was born in 1976, when South Africa was still run by a white-minority government, and grew up in a township east of the capital, Pretoria.He told lawmakers that he was for a time raised by a single mother, who he said then "disappeared on me"."I had to raise myself. I was actually a street kid," he told lawmakers.He eventually reunited with his mother in 2002, when she was terminally ill.After she died, Matlala learned that she had been sexually assaulted, which he said was because of her albinism.
Myths surround the condition include people believing that having sex with a woman with the condition would cure the men of illness.After leaving school, he said he started an informal business to make ends meet, which led to various brushes with the law.In 2001, he was convicted and served time in prison for the possession of stolen goods.Over the years, he would be arrested for a string of crimes, including house robberies, a cash-in-transit heist and assault. He denied involvement in them all and was either acquitted or had the charges withdrawn against him.He told the parliamentary committee that his nickname "Cat" was not, as some had suggested, down to his "nine lives" and ability to survive trouble, but because of his large family - he has nine children with his wife.But things caught up with him in May 2025 when he was arrested and charged with attempted murder, which he denies. His wife is accused of the same crime and also denies the charge.
Unlike her husband, she has been granted bail.He was later charged with corruption over allegations in relation to providing health services to the police - and last month pleaded guilty as part of a deal with the prosecution but has since withdrawn the plea as the agreement has fallen apart. on, Sesi Baloyi is one of the three commissioners who has been listening to the months' of testimonyHe told the parliamentary inquiry last year that he turned his life around in 2017, when he registered his first formal business to provide security services.Matlala said he later expanded his services into healthcare, and this led to him scoring lucrative contracts, first with a hospital and then the police, even though, as he admitted to lawmakers, he had no track record providing healthcare services.But since last September, as witnesses gave evidence to the Madlanga Commission, allegations that Matlala had a close and corrupt relationship with senior police officers emerged in the public domain.This included allegations that the now-suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu was indirectly receiving financial campaign money from Matlala to fund his "political endeavours". Mchunu denied these accusations.Matlala has also been accused of having dealings with Mchunu's predecessor Bheki Cele.Matlala told parliament's inquiry he had paid Cele a 500,000 rand ($31,000; £23,000) "facilitation fee", which the latter had demanded after police returned firearms seized from Matlala.The businessman alleged that Cele also made other requests, including asking for help to purchase a home and pay for his son's studies, to which Matlala refused to accede.Cele admitted to MPs that he had known Matlala for a couple of months and had stayed at his rented penthouse in Pretoria on two occasions but denied receiving money from Matlala. on, Shadrack Sibiya, who has been suspended as deputy police chief, has denied having a close relationship with MatlalaMatlala's relationship with suspended deputy police chief Maj-Gen Shadrack Sibiya has also come under examination.Both Matlala and Sibiya denied having a close relationship, insisting their dealings were strictly professional.But testimony given at th
Extract — continue reading at the source.
