Hearing record
Day 140
Day 140, 15 July 2026. The Madlanga Commission postponed the testimony of alleged 'Big Five' cartel figure Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala to 1 September 2026 and ordered him to file his statement by 29 July, after his counsel Advocate Anneline van den Heever argued that his section 35 constitutional rights as a potential accused had to take precedence over the commission's timetable: she said the defence could not responsibly advise him to testify until it had seen the documents relating to his collapsed plea negotiations and understood the full criminal case against him. Chairperson Mbuyiseli Madlanga, visibly irritated, cut the argument short to focus on 'the broader question' of precedence. The commission then continued cross-examining Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) investigator Brian Padayachee on the fraud and corruption case against Crime Intelligence head Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo, with counsel questioning whether the complaint by National Coloured Congress MP Fadiel Adams gave IDAC jurisdiction at all and calling it thin on substance; Madlanga said it was 'highly improbable' that Padayachee could have run the investigation without a copy of the main complaint. Padayachee again rejected MK Party MP Vusi Shongwe's claim of an 'Indian cabal' of Padayachee, IDAC head Advocate Andrea Johnson, senior investigator Suneel Bellochun and Major-General Feroz Khan, telling the commission: 'If such a cabal exists, I am not a party to it.' All allegations are untested; those named are presumed innocent.
