Tenderpreneur Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala has escalated his allegations against former police minister Bheki Cele, telling parliament’s ad hoc committee that Cele initially requested R1m and frequently asked to stay at his luxurious Pretoria penthouse.
The money was allegedly a payment for helping him intervene to halt alleged harassment from members of the political killings task team (PKTT).
Matlala made his second appearance before the committee investigating allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system. He is providing more details about claims that Cele allegedly extorted money from him.
Matlala said while Cele allegedly requested R1m, he claimed he only paid him R500,000 in two separate cash instalments.
- first payment (January): R300,000 was allegedly paid when Cele visited Matlala’s penthouse in Pretoria.
- second payment (March): The remaining R200,000 was reportedly handed over at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Durban.
“When Cele asked me for R1m, I told him I could arrange R300k at the time because I had other things I had to do with money, and he accepted it,” Matlala said.
He claimed both transactions were made in cash and were wrapped in a shopping bag, which he referred to as the “Woollies bag”.
The source of the funds was identified as the Medicare24 Tshwane District account. Medicare24 is the company allegedly awarded an irregular R360m SAPS tender in June last year.
Matlala offered to provide his bank statement to the committee, saying the money was withdrawn from an FNB business account at Menlyn Maine by his sister in January, as he had resigned as a director.
The late Bongani Mpungose, son of KwaZulu-Natal taxi boss Sputla Mpungose, was allegedly present during the Pretoria transaction.
Matlala’s personal protectors accompanied him to Durban for the second cash delivery.
Matlala said he grew tired of “bankrolling” Cele due to more requests Cele allegedly made.
He detailed the alleged additional demands:
- money to fix his and his wife’s car;
- a request for Matlala to pay an invoice for Cele’s son, who is reportedly an engineering student; and
- a request for money to buy a house in KwaZulu-Natal.
He said communication between them was conducted via WhatsApp calls, where Cele would call and simply say, “Do something.”
Evidence leader Norman Arendse questioned Matlala on why he did not refuse to give Cele the money. Matlala responded by expressing his fear of the former minister and the police.
“I don’t think even you, if you were in my shoes, would have denied. I’ve witnessed what these people [police] were doing to me. I wouldn’t want to provoke him or say something he wouldn’t like.”
Matlala also contradicted Cele’s previous testimony regarding his accommodation. Cele told the committee he only slept at Matlala’s penthouse twice, calling it a “freebie”. However, Matlala asserted that Cele was the one who requested to stay and would spend three to four nights on separate occasions.
Addressing questions about travelling with a heavy security presence to Durban, Matlala said the security was a normal practice to promote his security company and for his personal safety. “I’m a businessman, and I don’t want to be a victim of the crime that’s out there.”
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