Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala told Parliament’s ad hoc committee at Kgosi Mampuru prison that WhatsApp messages presented as exchanges with information peddler Brown Mogotsi had been manipulated.
“This thing has been tampered [with]; that is a fact. My phone was manipulated,” he said. He conceded that his number may have been saved under the name “Dlamini” — his grandmother’s surname — but insisted that “most” of the messages were fabricated. He further alleged that his voice had been altered in recordings used at the Madlanga commission.
Pressed by PA MP Ashley Sauls, Matlala admitted, “Yes, I created the Dlamini profile on my phone.” He later conceded that his number could have been saved as Dlamini but maintained that the exchanges were not genuine. Sauls asked whether he was testifying that provincial commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi knew about a corrupt HR head and did nothing. Matlala replied, “Yes. When Mkhwanazi suggested I had to ‘work with’ the HR head the same way the previous service provider did — by paying them — is that not corruption?”
ANC chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli pressed Matlala on contradictions in his testimony, citing what he called “strange coincidences” in his dealings with senior police officials. Ntuli pointed to Matlala’s lease of a property linked to Shadrack Sibiya, his wife’s attendance at a party for Sibiya’s son, and the appearance of a brigadier’s niece at his company after the contract award.
“How do you explain these coincidences, yourself?” Ntuli asked. Matlala responded that he did not have a problem with a tender but with a lease agreement, and denied co-ordination with police officers.
ANC MP Khusela Diko asked whether Matlala had any police officers “on his payroll.” He replied: “No. No. No.” Diko also pressed him on whether he was accusing Mkhwanazi of corruption. Matlala said: “I’m not accusing, that is what he told me.”
ActionSA MP Dereleen James questioned Matlala about his relationship with businessperson Jerry Boshoga, who has been linked to narcotics and was reportedly kidnapped. Matlala described Boshoga as a “close friend” to whom he had lent R1m, but denied involvement in the drug trade. He admitted that “it is possible” drug money was repaid into his business account, but said: “I wouldn’t judge him.” James told him: “You are a criminal involved in the destruction of our communities, the destruction of our children.” Matlala replied: “That was not a business transaction.”
EFF leader Julius Malema pressed Matlala on his protectors, noting that many were drawn from police special forces. Matlala said: “There are eight from the police’s special forces. I pay them R100,000 each per month. My budget is R2m a month.” Malema asked: “Are you John Wick? Are you killing people?” Matlala responded: “No, no, no.” Malema also asked whether CCTV footage exists of him handing over money at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Matlala said: “They’ll find CCTV footage.”
IFP MP Albert Mncwango asked why Matlala calls Cele an extortionist when “they clearly have a scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours type of relationship.” Matlala said: “Cele’s demands became unreasonable.” Mncwango also asked whether he paid Bongani Mpungose for facilitating a meeting. Matlala confirmed: “Yes, I did.”
Throughout the exchanges, Matlala maintained that he is “striving to be an honest man” despite acknowledging past convictions for burglary and possession of stolen goods. “I’m not perfect,” he told the committee. He also revealed personal details, telling MPs, “My mother disappeared on me. So I had to raise myself. I was actually a street kid.” He said she had albinism and was traumatised by abuse, and that he later found her in 2002 when she was terminally ill.
Matlala denied being part of the so‑called “Big Five” syndicate, telling Sauls: “No, I am not.” He insisted that suspended officials and investigators were trying to implicate him unfairly. “The same team that is investigating my criminal case tried to convince me to implicate Sibiya and Mchunu,” he said.
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