Hearing record
Day 54
SAPS Brigadier Rachel Matjeng, a section head in Forensic Services, told the commission she had an intermittent romantic relationship with alleged crime boss Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala since 2017 but insisted she played no part in his R360-million police contract.
The day in brief
What you need to know
- Brigadier Rachel Matjeng, Section Head for Quality Management (Criminal Record and Crime Scene Management) in the SAPS Forensic Services Division, took the stand on Thursday, 5 February 2026.
- She confirmed an on-and-off romantic relationship with alleged crime boss Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala dating back to 2017, describing him as 'humble, respectful and romantic'.
- Matjeng insisted she sat on none of the tender committees and had no role in Matlala securing the roughly R360-million SAPS contract.
- She denied that a R300,000 payment was 'gratification', saying the money went to an account belonging to Osizweni Meat Market, a butchery owned by a friend.
- Matjeng framed gifts she received from Matlala as personal and unrelated to the police tender.
- The relationship disclosure placed a serving senior forensic officer at the centre of the commission's conflict-of-interest inquiry into the Matlala procurement.
- All allegations are untested before the commission and Matjeng is presumed innocent.
Full coverage
The day, in depth
A senior forensic officer discloses a relationship with Matlala
Matjeng told the commission she and Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala had been in an intermittent romantic relationship since 2017, according to EWN and Sowetan. She described him in warm personal terms while stressing that the connection was private. Her disclosure is significant because she is a serving SAPS brigadier in Forensic Services, and Matlala is an alleged crime figure linked to a large police contract.
Denial of any role in the R360-million tender
Matjeng maintained she was not a member of the bid specification, evaluation or adjudication committees and did not know which service providers had bid, Sowetan reported. She said gifts she received were unrelated to the roughly R350-360 million SAPS contract. IOL reported the testimony unfolded against a backdrop of conflict-of-interest allegations tied to the contract.
The R300,000 payment dispute
Matjeng denied receiving R300,000 from Matlala as a reward for assisting with his contract. She told the commission the funds were deposited into an account belonging to Osizweni Meat Market, a butchery owned by a friend named as Modiegi Kekana. The account arrangement became a focal point of questioning about the flow of money between the two.
In their words
Key moments from the record
“It must be noted I was not part of the bid specification committee or bid evaluation committee nor bid adjudication committee and was not aware of the service providers that submitted the bids for the tender.”
Our analysis
The bottom line
Matjeng's testimony crystallised the central tension the commission has probed around the Matlala contracts: whether personal ties between serving officers and an alleged crime figure shaped how public money moved. Her account draws a firm line between a private relationship and her official duties, and on her telling the two never touched. Whether that separation holds is precisely the kind of question the commission exists to test, and nothing in her appearance amounts to a finding either way.
The R300,000 routed through a third party's butchery account is the sort of detail that invites scrutiny regardless of intent, because it complicates any clean narrative of arms-length dealing. It is worth stressing that Matjeng offered an innocent explanation and that the commission is a fact-finding body, not a court. Her later arrest and dismissal, reported in subsequent months, are separate processes that carry their own presumption of innocence and were not before the commission on this day.
Analysis is the archive’s own comment on the public proceedings, grounded in the record above. It weighs the evidence and the process; questions of individual guilt are for the courts and the commission to decide. Everyone named is presumed innocent.
In the room & on the record
Counsel, the panel and sources
On the panel
- Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga (chairperson)
Sources
- EWN - SAPS section head tells Madlanga Commission she had romantic relationship with Matlala (5 Feb 2026) ↗
- Sowetan - Gifts from Matlala unrelated to R350m SAPS tender, Brig Matjeng tells Madlanga inquiry (5 Feb 2026) ↗
- IOL - SAPS brigadier faces conflict of interest allegations in R360-million contract scandal (5 Feb 2026) ↗