‘Cele lied’ — Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala alleges he made R500K payoff to former police minister

Controversial businessman and organised crime accused Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala has alleged that former police minister Bheki Cele demanded a R500,000 payment from him. Matlala was testifying during his long-awaited appearance before Parliament’s ad hoc committee at Pretoria’s Kgosi Mampuru Prison on Wednesday, after his legal team failed in a last-minute bid to have the hearing postponed.

To go with his leg irons, Matlala wore head-to-toe Burberry — a white shirt, beige trousers, and matching belt and shoes from the luxury brand.

MPs travelled from Cape Town to the prison to hear Matlala’s testimony in the ongoing inquiry into allegations that a drug cartel has infiltrated elements of South Africa’s policing and political structures.

Matlala is facing charges of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, fraud and defeating the ends of justice.

The charges relate to incidents that allegedly took place in Johannesburg between 12 and 17 October 2023. He is accused of plotting to kill his socialite girlfriend, Tebogo Thobejane, along with two other people.

Matlala told the committee of a December 2025 raid at his Waterkloof, Pretoria, home, which would later lead him to have a relationship with several police officials, including the sidelined police minister, Senzo Mchunu, and Cele.

“I heard my kids screaming. I saw guys wearing balaclavas approaching the main bedroom. When they got inside the main bedroom, they said I must lie down, and when I saw the kids, they had made them lie down and put their hands behind their heads.

“They took my cellphones and asked me questions, ‘Where is Jerry?’ They asked me whether I knew [now suspended deputy national police commissioner, Shadrack] Sibiya, [Crime Intelligence chief Feroz] Khan, Mchunu. They took a long time asking me about SAPS officials.”

Matlala’s business partner, Jerry Boshoga, was kidnapped on 18 November 2024 and, according to testimony at the Madlanga Inquiry, police believed Matlala was the culprit. They raided his house on 6 December 2024 but found no trace of Boshoga, who remains missing.

Matlala testified that during the raid, SAPS took his firearms, his guard’s firearms, his watch and cellphone — some of which were later recovered through the assistance of Cele, whom, he claimed, later demanded R500,000.

Cele’s alleged payoff

“I made an initial payment of R300,000 in cash to former minister Cele at my residence in Pretoria, around January. I handed over the money while he was inside my apartment. This was after he told me they needed gratification, which he called ‘facilitation fee’, related to his role in returning my firearms and stopping the harassment. He also implied that he was not acting alone, which explained why such a large amount was required.

“I made a second cash payment of R200,000 to Cele around March 2025 at the Beverly Hills Hotel,” he said in a statement before the committee.

Testifying before the committee last month, Cele said he knew Matlala “very well”, having met him in December 2024, but their relationship was based on gathering information.

Read more: Cele’s allegations — the murder and the Mchunu project for ANC presidency

He claimed to have met Matlala at Durban’s Beverly Hills Hotel through Bongani “Mabonga” Mpungose, the son of a taxi industry figure.

Cele testified that Matlala told him that the now suspended SAPS Deputy National Commissioner of Crime Detection, Shadrack Sibiya, wanted him to write an affidavit against Dumisani Khumalo, who headed Crime Intelligence.

Matlala, however, disputed several parts of Cele’s testimony, including the nature of their relationship, which he said continued until May this year, when he was arrested.

The EFF’s Julius Malema challenged Matlala’s statement on Wednesday and asked if he was suggesting that Cele had misled Parliament.

“Yes, he lied under oath. If he was asking for me, he was sucking information,” said Matlala.

Following the raid at his home, Matlala said he lodged a criminal case with the police, but it was never registered.

In a matter of days, Matlala said he then received a phone call from North West businessman Brown Mogotsi, who said he had been calling from Mchunu’s office, volunteering to assist him — and also asking for financial assistance.

Mogotsi was the alleged middleman between Mchunu and Matlala. The Madlanga Commission has seen a series of text messages between Mogotsi and Mchunu, as well as between Mogotsi and Matlala, which suggest Matlala may have had advanced knowledge of the disbandment of the SAPS Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), which was targeting Matlala.

Alleged ties to Mchunu

Matlala alleged that he paid for flights and accommodation for people linked to Mchunu’s presidential campaign to attend the ANC’s January 8 celebrations in Cape Town at the beginning of this year.

He maintained that he does not know and has never met Mchunu and that Mogotsi requested the funds on Mchunu’s behalf and conveyed his presidential ambitions.

Malema asked him how much he paid for this.

“I would say between R150,000 and R200,000. I am not quite sure, but there is proof of payments.”

According to an investigator’s testimony at the Madlanga Commission, Matlala allegedly told police he paid R500,000 towards Mchunu’s campaign, but was frustrated when the minister failed to stop investigations into Matlala and maintain his business deals with the SAPS.

Matlala’s company, Medicare 24 Tshwane District, was irregularly awarded a R360-million contract by the SAPS to provide health screening services, which was later cancelled.

Read more: Inside Cat Matlala’s R360m police tender that ‘shouldn’t have been awarded’

Evidence leader Norman Arendse SC quizzed Matlala on this. He responded that he was uncomfortable responding to questions and feared incriminating himself, as there was ongoing litigation on the issue.

Matlala said he did not think there was anything untoward with him getting the tender, despite the fact that he had not done any similar work with private and state hospitals.

One of the first MPs to object to Matlala’s reluctance to answer was the ANC’s Khusela Sangoni, who cautioned that under Parliament’s Powers and Privileges Act, witnesses were compelled to answer questions even if this meant incriminating themselves. However, that evidence cannot be used in other forums.

In an effort to ease Matlala’s concerns, committee chairperson Soviet Lekganyane said: “There is nobody who can come to you and say this is the evidence you deposed before a committee or House of Parliament. It’s only Parliament that has that exclusive right to use that evidence because you would have taken an oath through us.”

Matlala was not convinced.

“They cannot be used against me by who? If you say they cannot be used against me by the committee, that I understand. But if someone is investigating me and there’s someone that I’m saying now that can incriminate me, obviously, they will use it against me,” said Matlala.

The session on Wednesday began with Matlala sharing personal details of his life, including that he was a father of nine children, and had started an informal business in Grade 12, which led to his conviction in 2001 for buying and selling stolen goods.

He was sentenced to four years in prison.

At one stage, when Matlala could not answer a question, he said, “I am in solitary confinement, I forget a lot of things.”

Matlala’s testimony is scheduled to continue until Friday. It is expected to cover the alleged unlawful disbandment of the PKTT; the reported moratorium on filling vacancies within the SAPS; alleged corrupt relationships between senior SAPS leadership and members of the public; and claims of political interference in SAPS operations. DM