How a former 'street kid' is key to South Africa's police corruption inquiry
Vusimusi "Cat" Matlala, due to appear at the Madlanga Commission, grew up hustling to make a living.
How a former 'street kid' plays a crucial role in South Africa's police corruption investigation
Vusimusi "Cat" Matlala addressed some of the allegations against him when he spoke to lawmakers regarding police corruption last year. His name has been a recurring theme in South Africa's significant inquiry into alleged police corruption, and if all goes as planned on Wednesday, the contentious businessman will finally be questioned directly.
Matlala faces accusations of providing lavish gifts—including 20 impalas, the weight-loss medication Ozempic, and personal loans—to gain influence and secure police contracts. The 49-year-old has been in police custody for over a year due to a separate case and is anticipated to share his perspective as he appears before retired Constitutional Court judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga and his panel.
The ongoing Madlanga Commission, which has been in session for 10 months, has captivated South Africans, who are eager to hear Matlala's responses. Clad in a Fendi shirt and Gucci glasses, Matlala previously testified at a related corruption inquiry in parliament last November. He claimed not to know senior police officials and politicians personally and denied the corruption allegations, although he acknowledged making donations for activities associated with the African National Congress (ANC), the leading party in the coalition government.
However, he has yet to address the broader allegations presented at the Madlanga Commission or the claim that he was involved in a drug trafficking cartel, reportedly known as the Big Five. Matlala and his wife, Tsakane Matlala, are also facing an attempted murder charge, which they both deny.
Although Matlala is now a prominent figure, he first gained public attention three years ago when his name surfaced in news articles concerning alleged tender irregularities at a state hospital, despite his claims of no involvement in the tender process. The limited information about his early life comes from his testimony to parliament last year. Born in 1976 during the era of South Africa's white-minority government, he grew up in a township east of Pretoria. He recounted to lawmakers that he was raised for a time by a single mother, who he said later "disappeared on me."
"I had to raise myself. I was actually a street kid," he told the lawmakers. He eventually reunited with his mother in 2002, shortly before her death from terminal illness. After her passing, Matlala discovered that she had been sexually assaulted, a tragedy he attributed to her albinism, which is surrounded by harmful myths.
After leaving school, he started an informal business to support himself, which led to various encounters with the law. In 2001, he was convicted and served time for possession of stolen goods. Over the years, he faced multiple arrests for various crimes, including house robberies and a cash-in-transit heist, all of which he denied, claiming he was either acquitted or that the charges were dropped.
Matlala explained to the parliamentary committee that his nickname "Cat" was not due to his supposed "nine lives" but rather because he has a large family—he has nine children with his wife. However, in May 2025, he was arrested and charged with attempted murder, a charge he denies. His wife faces the same accusation and also denies it, but unlike him, she has been granted bail.
He was later charged with corruption related to allegations of providing health services to the police and last month pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal, which he has since retracted as the agreement fell apart.
Sesi Baloyi is one of the three commissioners who have been listening to the months of testimony. Matlala informed the parliamentary inquiry last year that he turned his life around in 2017 by registering his first formal business to provide security services. He later expanded into healthcare, which led to lucrative contracts with a hospital and then the police, despite admitting to lawmakers that he had no prior experience in providing healthcare services.
Since last September, as witnesses have testified at the Madlanga Commission, allegations of Matlala's close and corrupt ties with senior police officials have surfaced. This includes claims that the now-suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu was indirectly receiving campaign funds from Matlala for his "political endeavors," which Mchunu has denied.
Matlala has also been accused of having dealings with Mchunu's predecessor, Bheki Cele. He testified to the parliamentary inquiry that he paid Cele a 500,000 rand ($31,000; £23,000) "facilitation fee," which Cele allegedly demanded after police returned firearms seized from Matlala. Cele acknowledged knowing Matlala for a few months and staying at his rented penthouse in Pretoria on two occasions but denied receiving any money from him.
Suspended deputy police chief Maj-Gen Shadrack Sibiya has also denied having a close relationship with Matlala. Both men insist their interactions were strictly professional, but testimony at the Madlanga Commission suggested otherwise. It was alleged that Sibiya received 20 impalas from Matlala around the same time Matlala