Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala withdrew from a plea deal with prosecutors in the Medicare24 case after his proposed sentence was rejected by the court. (Photo: Gallo Images / Frennie Shivambu)
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) will have to go back to the drawing board after alleged organised crime figure Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala withdrew from his plea and sentence agreement with the State in the R228-million SAPS Medicare24 fraud case.
Matlala made a brief appearance in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Monday, 13 July 2026, where his legal team informed the court of his decision to pull out of the agreement.
“I’ve been informed by counsel on your behalf that it is your choice to withdraw from the plea and sentence agreement as you decline to accept the court’s recommended sentence,” Magistrate Ignatius du Preez said to Matlala.
After confirming his decision before the court, Du Preez declared the plea agreement null and void.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines, NPA spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the collapse of the agreement means the State can no longer rely on anything contained in Matlala’s admissions and will instead continue building its case through the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac).
“Nothing that was in that plea can be used and therefore we have to continue with our investigations from the Idac side and then the matter will come back here in September.
“We will then ask for the court to rejoin him as accused number one in the other case so that he can be trialled,” Kganyago said.
This is the matter in which 12 senior police officers, civilians and suspended national police commissioner General Fannie Masemola have been implicated in the alleged corruption surrounding the awarding of the SAPS Medicare24 tender.
While admitting that Matlala’s decision took the State by surprise, Kganyago insisted that the broader case was not entirely dependent on the plea agreement.
“Our matter in the other case was not entirely dependent on the plea because we had already arrested people who were involved in this. We arrested them on the basis of evidence we have against them. Therefore we will continue to do our own investigations,” Kganyago said.
Under the plea agreement, Matlala had admitted to fraud, corruption and money laundering arising from the alleged rigging of the R228-million SAPS tender. In return, he was set to receive an effective eight-year prison sentence after being handed a 15-year term, with seven years suspended.
It remains unclear why Matlala changed his mind after pleading guilty and entering into the plea and sentence agreement.
/file/attachments/orphans/ED_614499_442988.jpg "Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala appears in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria for judgment in the Medicare24 fraud case on 1 July 2026. Matlala pleaded guilty to seven charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering linked to the R228-million SAPS Medicare24 tender. (Photo: Gallo Images / Frennie Shivambu)<br>")
Kganyago said the NPA did not want to speculate about what prompted the decision.
“We really don’t want to speculate on what the reasons might be. We had a deal arranged and finalised. The only thing that changed was the sentence. Therefore we expected him to accept it, but we don’t know what would have happened behind closed doors,” he said.
The agreement would have allowed the matter to be concluded much sooner, but the NPA will now have to proceed with a full trial.
Previously, Du Preez said it was the responsibility of the SAPS and the NPA to investigate and prosecute corruption, and not that of an accused person seeking a lighter sentence.
“The fact that Matlala holds evidence against high-ranking officials cannot come at the cost of justice. His cooperation may assist the State, but it cannot be permitted to replace the State’s own diligent efforts, nor may his cooperation be used to purchase a sentence that fails to reflect his own criminality,” he said.
Relying on section 105A of the Criminal Procedure Act, the evidence before him and the cumulative effect of the offences, Du Preez concluded that justice required a substantially longer effective sentence than the one negotiated by the parties.
Du Preez suggested that a 15-year sentence for the fraud charge, with seven years suspended for five years on condition that Matlala was not convicted of fraud, corruption, theft or money laundering during that period, would be more appropriate.
He also suggested that 10 years’ imprisonment for the three corruption charges, with eight years to run at the same time as the fraud sentence, would be more appropriate than the plea deal sentence. For the three money laundering charges, he proposed another 10-year sentence, with eight years also running concurrently.
This would have left Matlala with an effective 12-year prison sentence, four years longer than the eight-year sentence set out in the plea agreement.
In his plea and sentence agreement, Matlala had implicated Brigadier Rachel Matjeng, who allegedly received gratification from him, and Captain Brian Cartwright, who allegedly facilitated bid documents containing false information – among others.
The matter was postponed to 11 September for trial. The State is expected to apply to have Matlala rejoined as accused number one so that he can stand trial alongside the other accused. DM