By Anita Dangazele
- SAPS dismissed Brigadier Rachel Matjeng on 30 June for accepting gratification, money laundering and giving Matlala a list of officers.
- Matjeng had earlier told the Madlanga Commission in February that the monies she got from Matlala were gifts, not bribes for his tender.
Brigadier Rachel Matjeng has lost her job at the police.
SAPS confirmed her dismissal took effect on 30 June 2026, after an internal disciplinary process found her guilty of serious misconduct linked to her relationship with businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
She was found guilty of accepting gratification, money laundering, advising Matlala against the interests of the police, giving him a list containing details of police members for financial benefit, and dishonesty.
Matjeng was section head for quality management at the SAPS forensic services division in Pretoria. Matlala’s company, Medicare24 Tshwane District, held a police health tender.
In February, Matjeng told the Madlanga Commission a different story. She said the money and gifts Matlala gave her from 2017 were not bribes, but gifts from a boyfriend.
“I have never borrowed money from Mr Matlala, and the money and gifts received from 2017 were a gift from a boyfriend,” she said.
She also told the commission she gave Matlala a list of officers who missed medical check-ups to stop him from wrongly claiming money for treatment they never received. She said her intention was to save the police from wasting money, not to benefit from it.
SAPS has now ruled the opposite. Its disciplinary process found she handed over the list to gain financially herself.
Acting National Commissioner Puleng Dimpane welcomed the dismissal.
“The outcome sends a clear message that corruption, criminality and any form of collusion with criminals have no place within the South African Police Service,” she said.
Matlala has since pleaded guilty to charges linked to the same tender and has agreed to testify against his co-accused as a state witness.
Pictured above: Dismissed cop Rachel Matjeng.
Image source: @CrimeWatch_RSA/X
