Chief investigator, Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC), suspended · Pretoria
Named in evidence · suspended · has not testified
The suspended chief investigator of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption, and the official whose conduct Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala placed at the centre of his evidence to this commission on 9 November 2026. Perumal has never testified here and has answered none of what is said about him on this record. He was suspended on 30 July 2026 by Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, pending a disciplinary process, on the same day that National Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Andy Mothibi suspended senior investigators Colonel Brian Padayachee and Suneel Bellochun; a precautionary suspension is an employment step and not a finding of wrongdoing. On Day 190 Matlala told the commission, under subpoena and from custody, that Perumal typed the section 204 statement produced inside his collapsed plea and sentence agreement, that it went through several versions, and that material was inserted into it that he did not say. The official transcript of that day records Bellochun's designation on the statement as Senior Investigator. Matlala is a man facing criminal charges he denies, his account is untested, and the three investigators he names have not replied to it before this commission. Separately, on 10 November 2026 the National Prosecuting Authority publicly denied weekend reports that Perumal had attempted suicide, confirming that he had fallen ill and was in hospital. He is presumed innocent.
This profile summarises testimony and evidence given on the public record before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. It restates allegations as presented at the hearings and is not a finding of guilt, liability, or wrongdoing by any person.
Awaiting appearanceNo portrait on the public record yet
Their role
What the record says
Suspended by the Justice Minister pending a disciplinary process (30 July 2026)
On 30 July 2026 Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi suspended Perumal, the directorate's chief investigator, pending a disciplinary process, while National Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Andy Mothibi suspended senior investigators Colonel Brian Padayachee and Suneel Bellochun. Reporting at the time recorded that the three had been accused before this commission of manipulating cases, including the fabrication of witness statements and an abuse of the directorate's powers. None of the three has answered those allegations from the stand, a precautionary suspension is not a finding, and all three are presumed innocent. The same day the directorate was placed under a six-month reform programme including skills and lifestyle audits of all 212 employees and a review of its cases before the courts.
Matlala says he typed the section 204 statement and 'typed whatever suited him' (9 November 2026)
On Day 190 Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala told the commission, per the Mail and Guardian, 'When I was giving the statement, Perumal himself was the one who was typing the statement', and that 'He typed whatever suited him'. Per IOL he said the statement went through about four versions before he signed, and that officials inserted material into it without his consent. The official transcript of the day records Matlala naming Perumal, Padayachee and Bellochun as the three investigators constantly involved. This is the untested account of a witness who faces criminal charges he denies; Perumal has not answered it before this commission and is presumed innocent.
Matlala says investigators pressed him for information on senior generals
Per Eyewitness News and IOL, Matlala told the commission that IDAC officials approached him in custody and told him 'we are not actually after you', that they needed to arrest him in order to reach others, and that he was booked out of prison at about two in the morning and driven to a McDonald's next to C-Max and, on other occasions, to the Sheraton Hotel rather than back to prison. Per IOL the officers they wanted information on were Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, national commissioner Fannie Masemola and Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo. Per the Daily Maverick, Matlala named Perumal and Padayachee as the officials who pressed him to take the plea deal. Everything in this paragraph is one witness's untested allegation. The three generals are not accused of anything by it; the allegation concerns what investigators are said to have wanted from a witness. Perumal has not answered any of it and is presumed innocent.
A witness told the commission he intends to lay criminal charges against him
Advocate Mantsha Raphesu told this commission that he intends to open a criminal case against Padayachee and chief investigator Perumal, alleging they targeted him. That is a stated intention and an untested allegation, not a charge and not a finding; Perumal has not answered it and is presumed innocent.
The NPA denied reports that he attempted suicide, and confirmed he is in hospital (10 November 2026)
After weekend reports that Perumal had been hospitalised following an alleged suicide attempt, the National Prosecuting Authority issued a public denial on Tuesday 10 November 2026. Per IOL, Eyewitness News, The Citizen and Jacaranda FM, national spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said 'We have been in contact with the family, and we can confirm that he indeed fell ill and is in hospital', and that 'There is no truth to the fact that he was trying to commit suicide.' The authority asked the public to refrain from spreading unconfirmed information and wished him a speedy recovery. Per Eyewitness News he had also been admitted in July. This archive did not publish the underlying claim, which rested on unnamed sources; it publishes the authority's on-the-record denial.