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By Anita Dangazele
- Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala refused to answer questions about several key figures at the Madlanga Commission, citing his pending criminal trial.
- He was open about hating political fixer Brown Mogotsi, saying Mogotsi used former minister Senzo Mchunu’s name to get money from him.
Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala finally took the stand at the Madlanga Commission on Monday, after months of delays, and immediately made clear how much he would and wouldn’t say.
His lawyer, Advocate Annelene van den Heever, warned commissioners at the start of proceedings, delayed further by a fire alarm going off at the venue, that Matlala’s answers would be limited. He went on to invoke his right not to incriminate himself when asked about his relationships with suspended general Shadrack Sibiya, Sergeant Fanie Nkosi, and businessman Suliman Carrim, all matters tied up in his own pending criminal trial.
He did, however, speak at length about one man he clearly has no love left for: political fixer Brown Mogotsi. Matlala said Mogotsi first contacted him days after police raided his home, claiming to be from then-police minister Senzo Mchunu’s office, and offered to help him open a case against the officers involved. “By then he wanted money. Yes, I gave him that money, I think it was R20,000. He said we must book accommodation for those investigators,” Matlala told the commission.
Matlala said he later met former police minister Bheki Cele, who instructed him to keep paying Mogotsi to help establish whether there were corrupt links back to Mchunu. He said he paid Mogotsi R150,000 towards the ANC’s January 8 anniversary celebrations, and that Cele, in turn, helped him recover firearms that had been confiscated from him.
Asked directly how he now feels about Mogotsi, Matlala didn’t hold back. “I actually hate him. He caused a lot of problems for me,” he said, adding that the relationship ended after his arrest. He was firm that he has never dealt with Mchunu personally.
“I have never met Minister Mchunu and have had no interactions with him, nor have I been at any gatherings where he was present,” he testified.
Matlala did open up slightly about his connection to Suliman Carrim, saying the two grew close through visits to the late taxi boss Jonathan Msibi, alleged by police to have headed a crime syndicate known as the “Big Five.” Matlala said that around mid-2024, he approached Carrim with a request for R15 million in funding, agreed to verbally with no written contract.
Matlala’s testimony continues on 24 and 25 August.
Pictured above: Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala giving evidence before the Madlanga Commission.
Image source: File
