Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala spent several days facing questions about his alleged financial links to senior police figures during cross-examination at the Madlanga Commission.
Matlala repeatedly invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination, declining to answer direct questions about alleged cash payments to suspended deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya.
Matlala told the commission that Sergeant Fannie Nkosi acted as an intermediary who allegedly collected physical cash on Sibiya’s behalf.
Evidence leaders also presented financial records linking Matlala to tender businessman Hangwani Morgan Maumela. The documents were presented as part of the commission’s examination of Matlala’s business dealings and their possible links to the R2-billion Tembisa Hospital procurement investigation.
Breakdown between Hawks and police units
The commission also heard evidence from former Hawks head Lieutenant-General Godfrey Lebeya about what he described as serious communication and coordination failures between specialised police units.
Lebeya testified about a December 2024 raid at the residence of Katiso “KT” Molefe, where members of the Hawks and the Political Killings Task Team reportedly found themselves in a standoff.
According to Lebeya, the operation exposed gaps in coordination protocols between the two units and came close to an armed confrontation involving law enforcement officers.
His testimony adds to the commission’s broader examination of tensions, communication failures and alleged dysfunction within South Africa’s criminal justice system.
