Madlanga Commission hearing record
Day 140 of the Madlanga Commission
Witness: Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala +2 more
Evidence led by Advocate Mahlape Sello SC
'Cat' Matlala's testimony is pushed to September on constitutional-rights grounds; Padayachee's cross-examination continues; and the commission hears the businessman who says he is too sick to testify was spotted at a Cape Town restaurant.
The day in brief
What you need to know
- Matlala's commission testimony was postponed to 1 September 2026; he must file his statement by 29 July.
- His counsel argued his section 35 rights as a potential accused had to take precedence over the commission's timetable.
- Padayachee's cross-examination on the Khumalo/Mokwele case continued.
- Businessman Suleiman Carrim - repeatedly 'too ill' to testify - was reported to have been spotted at a Cape Town restaurant, sharpening the commission's patience with medical excuses.
Full coverage
The day, in depth
Matlala buys time - to September
Alleged 'Big Five' figure Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala, whose R228 million Medicare24 plea deal had collapsed two days earlier, secured a postponement of his commission testimony to 1 September 2026, with his statement ordered filed by 29 July. His counsel, Advocate Annelene van den Heever, argued that his section 35 constitutional rights as a potential accused had to take precedence over the commission's timetable - the defence could not responsibly advise him to testify until it had seen the documents on the failed plea negotiations and understood the full criminal case against him. A visibly irritated Justice Madlanga cut the argument short to focus on the 'broader question' of precedence before granting the postponement.
Padayachee, day two
The bulk of the day continued the cross-examination of IDAC investigator Colonel Brian Padayachee on the directorate's case against Crime Intelligence head Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo over the Mokwele appointment - the thread that would culminate the following day (Day 141) in the commission questioning whether IDAC had any lawful basis for the case at all.
The 'sick' witness at the restaurant
The commission's long-running frustration with businessman Suleiman Carrim - one of the alleged funders in the Medicare24 tender who has postponed testifying repeatedly on ill-health grounds - sharpened when it was reported that the man too unwell to appear had been spotted at a Cape Town restaurant. The commission has warned it may recommend his prosecution under the Commissions Act if he refuses an independent medical assessment.
On the record
Who testified this day
Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala
Businessman; alleged 'Big Five' cartel figure
View profile →Testified · suspended by the NDPPColonel Brian Padayachee
Senior investigator, Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC)
View profile →Testified · criminal charges to be laidSuleiman Carrim
Businessman
View profile →Follow the threads
Who Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala connects to
Madoda Johannes 'Joe Ferrari' Sibanyoni
Matlala and four co-accused have pleaded not guilty to 25 charges, including eleven counts of attempted murder, arising from the 10 August 2022 shooting of Joe 'Ferrari' Sibanyoni at the Centurion Golf and Country Club estate. The trial began on 21 July 2026 with Sibanyoni as the state's first witness. On Day 169 Sibanyoni told the commission that Matlala's association with the late Jotham Msibi was one reason he feared for his life. Untested; Matlala denies the charges and is presumed innocent.
View profile →Named alongside him in the Big Five evidenceKatiso 'KT' Molefe
Crime Intelligence head Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo named both men in September 2025 among the alleged leaders of the same Gauteng syndicate. Matlala has since testified under subpoena; Molefe has never appeared before the commission. Untested; both presumed innocent.
View profile →Alleged funderSuleiman Carrim
Evidence leaders described Carrim, with Hangwani Maumela, as one of the apparent funders behind Matlala's R360m Medicare24 tender; Carrim testified that Matlala and Brown Mogotsi 'played' him. Untested allegations.
View profile →Medicare24 / alleged cocaine dealMichael van Wyk
Matlala ran Medicare Tshwane District as a franchise of van Wyk's Medicare24 Holdings; their WhatsApp chats were led as an alleged 'get me a good price' cocaine deal. Untested; both presumed innocent (van Wyk on all counts).
View profile →Blue-lights arrangementJulius Mkhwanazi
Evidence tied Matlala's Cat VIP Protection to a draft EMPD memorandum and 'blue lights' arrangement alongside Mkhwanazi. Untested allegations.
View profile →Alleged co-conduitOupa 'Brown' Mogotsi
Carrim testified that Mogotsi and Matlala together 'played' him into the tender deal; money allegedly flowed to Mogotsi from the Medicare24 chain. On Day 160 Matlala said 'I actually hate him', described paying him up to R150,000, and said Bheki Cele told him to maintain the relationship. Mogotsi denies wrongdoing; untested.
View profile →Denied on the recordSenzo Mchunu
On Day 160 Matlala told the commission 'I have never met Minister Mchunu and have had no interactions with him', allowing only correspondence between their attorneys. A denial, not a finding.
View profile →Denied on the recordMajor-General Feroz Khan
Matlala denied ever meeting or interacting with the suspended Crime Intelligence deputy head on Day 160. A denial, not a finding.
View profile →Admitted meeting; agenda described on Day 167Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi
Matlala confirmed on Day 160 that he had met the KZN commissioner but claimed the privilege over what was discussed. On Day 167 he described it: Umhlanga, 15 April 2025, arranged by former police minister Bheki Cele, with Maj-Gen Lesetja Senona present; he wanted an introduction to the police human resources head over his company's non-performance, and he raised payments made to Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya by other people. Untested.
View profile →The friendship the commission spent Day 167 testingMajor General Lesetja Senona
Named among the affidavit omissions Matlala was recalled on Day 165 to explain, and the whole subject of Day 167. Matlala called him 'not friends but he's my older brother', said the general lent him R20,000 after the 6 December 2024 raid, confirmed WhatsApp advice of 13 May 2025 about challenging the Medicare24 cancellation, and refused to discuss a flat bought with Senona and his son Thato because his conduct with the general is under investigation. Untested; both presumed innocent.
View profile →LenderSteve Motsumi
Per SABC News and Business Day, Matlala confirmed a R5 million loan from Motsumi in 2024 under an acknowledgement of debt, repaid in 2025, and an unsuccessful approach for a further R20 million in 2025 to keep the Medicare24 contract alive. Untested; both presumed innocent.
View profile →Named among the omissions he was called back to explainMajor-General Richard Shibiri
Per SABC News and eNCA, the omissions Matlala was called back on Day 165 to explain included the name of the dismissed former head of the SAPS organised crime component. Nothing was tested on the day and Shibiri is presumed innocent.
View profile →Alleged gifts; refused to answerLieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya
Asked about a recording said to discuss 20 live impala delivered to Sibiya's farm in March 2024, Matlala said on Day 160 'I do not want to incriminate myself because I know that the recordings are under investigation'. Untested; Sibiya is presumed innocent.
View profile →Named him from the standJotham 'King Mswazi' Msibi
On Day 160 Matlala said he knew three Gauteng businessmen linked to alleged criminal syndicates and named the late taxi boss Jotham 'King Mswazi' Msibi among them. The next sitting day, with Matlala stood down to 24 August, the commission spent entirely on evidence extracted from Msibi's phone. Untested; both presumed innocent.
View profile →Joint venture he described on Day 166Hangwani 'Morgan' Maumela
On 25 August 2026, once the commission established he is not a suspect in the SIU's Tembisa Hospital matter and so could not claim the privilege on the subject, Matlala described a joint venture with Maumela dating to about 2015 or 2016: roughly R1 million each into a joint supplier account, Gauteng health department quotations answered through a shared company, ten percent each on the other's deals. He also said he introduced Maumela to Jotham Msibi over a Pagani Huayra. Untested; Maumela has not answered it and is presumed innocent.
View profile →Zoom out
Related case files
Khumalo / Mokwele appointment
IDAC charged a Crime Intelligence boss over a civilian's appointment. Sixteen days of testimony left the commission asking what the crime actually was - and by the end the prosecuting authority had withdrawn the case, IDAC's head had resigned, four of her own officials had testified against it, three senior investigators were suspended, and the chairperson had raised shutting the directorate down.
Read the case file →Case file · Tender fraudMedicare24 SAPS tender
A R360 million police medical tender, about R228 million paid, a web of alleged funders - and a central accused who pleaded guilty, then withdrew the deal and now heads to trial.
Read the case file →From the official record
Documents issued for this day
In the room & on the record
Counsel, the panel and sources
Evidence led by
- Advocate Mahlape Sello SC
On the panel
- Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga (chairperson)
- Advocate Sesi Baloyi SC