Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala’s return to the Madlanga Commission on Wednesday, 26 August, produced more explosive claims about his relationships with senior police officers, alleged cash payments and the controversial Medicare24 tender.
Matlala spent much of the day walking a fine line between answering questions and invoking his right against self-incrimination, repeatedly telling the commission that certain issues were before the courts or under investigation.
His evidence also brought former police minister Bheki Cele, KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, suspended deputy national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya, Sergeant Fannie Nkosi and former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks head General Lesetja Senona into focus.
Cele allegedly arranged the Mkhwanazi meeting
One of the day’s notable revelations was Matlala’s claim that Cele arranged his meeting with Mkhwanazi.
According to Matlala, the meeting took place in Umhlanga and initially concerned issues relating to purchase orders.
He said he had approached Mkhwanazi because he was seeking assistance with matters linked to his business and the SAPS contract.
Matlala also told the commission that Lieutenant-General Lineo Nkhuoa, who signed off the Service Level Agreement relating to the Medicare24 tender, was another person whose assistance he had sought.
But the meeting went beyond business.
Matlala said he and Mkhwanazi discussed “other matters”, including investigations and court proceedings.
“Yes, we discussed other things, but those things, all of them, they are in court now,” he said.
The meeting has become important because Mkhwanazi’s interactions with Matlala form part of the wider inquiry into allegations of corruption, police interference and criminal networks.
The Fannie Nkosi bombshell
The most dramatic part of Wednesday’s evidence came when Matlala was questioned about money allegedly collected for Sibiya.
Matlala said Mkhwanazi had asked him during their April 2025 meeting whether Sibiya was collecting money from people in Gauteng.
Matlala said he knew that money was allegedly being collected, but refused to identify the people who had supposedly paid it.
Pressed about how he knew, Matlala eventually pointed to Nkosi.
“A third person told me that General Sibiya went to collect money. That person was a middleman, a conduit of money… Sergeant Nkosi is the middleman,” he said.
Nkosi has previously been accused of acting as a link between senior police officials and people alleged to have connections to organised crime. He has denied wrongdoing and previously told the commission that some of his interactions with businessmen involved intelligence and crime-related discussions.
But Matlala refused to name the alleged payers
The commission wanted Matlala to identify the people who allegedly paid Sibiya.
He refused.
“I can’t say who paid the money… I don’t want to incriminate myself,” Matlala said.
His refusal triggered a lengthy legal tussle between evidence leader Advocate Adila Hassim SC, Matlala’s lawyer Advocate Annelene van den Heever and the commission.
Matlala maintained that revealing the identities could expose him to criminal consequences.
At one point, he pleaded with the commission not to force him to reveal everything.
“I’m already saying a lot here. At least leave me with half, and I can go to court with half, so don’t take everything. You want me to disclose everything. Just don’t strip me naked, please,” he said.
Matlala denies paying Sibiya
Despite the allegations surrounding money and Sibiya, Matlala insisted he had never personally paid the suspended police general.
“I didn’t say I gave General Sibiya money,” he said.
His evidence is significant because previous testimony before the commission has contained allegations that Matlala paid Sibiya large sums of money and delivered impalas to him.
Sibiya has denied receiving the impalas. Evidence previously presented to the commission included photographs of two impalas that Sibiya allegedly forwarded to another senior police official after Matlala was said to have delivered them.
Senona relationship remains a mystery
Matlala was also questioned about his relationship with former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks head General Lesetja Senona.
Again, he refused to provide details, saying the matter was under investigation.
Matlala told the commission he had not disclosed his relationship with Senona because doing so could prejudice an ongoing investigation.
The Senona issue is particularly significant because earlier evidence before the commission has alleged that confidential police information was shared with Matlala.
The commission has been investigating whether relationships between police officers, businessmen and alleged criminal figures allowed sensitive information to flow outside official channels.
The Medicare24 money trail
Running underneath much of Matlala’s testimony is the controversial Medicare24 contract.
His company was awarded a R360-million SAPS health services tender, which has since become the subject of a major corruption investigation.
More than 10 senior police generals have been implicated in proceedings connected to the tender, while Matlala himself faces criminal charges.
The commission has also heard evidence about alleged irregularities in the handling of the Medicare24 investigation, including questions around the timing of investigative authorisations.
Matlala has repeatedly refused to answer questions about aspects of the tender where he believes his answers could affect his criminal case.
His relationship with senior police remains under scrutiny
What stood out from Wednesday’s evidence was not only what Matlala revealed, but what he continued to refuse to say.
He acknowledged relationships and meetings with senior police figures, but repeatedly stopped short of explaining the full nature of those relationships.
On Monday, he had similarly refused to discuss his relationship with Sibiya in detail, saying the matter was under investigation.
“I am a suspect in a matter under investigation which relates to my interaction with him [Sibiya],” Matlala said at the time.
He also said he had met Sibiya three or four times over a dispute involving a long-running lease agreement with the Department of Public Works.
A day of answers – and more questions
By the end of Wednesday’s testimony, Matlala had placed Nkosi at the centre of his allegation that money was collected for Sibiya, claimed Cele arranged his meeting with Mkhwanazi and confirmed that his discussions with Mkhwanazi covered matters beyond the Medicare24 tender.
But the commission was still left without the names of the alleged payers.
Matlala’s repeated reliance on his right against self-incrimination has become one of the defining features of his appearance before the inquiry.
And as the commission continues examining the alleged links between politicians, police officials, businessmen and criminal networks, the unanswered questions around Matlala’s relationships may prove just as important as the claims he has made.
