WATCH | ‘Cat’ Matlala to face seven new charges

Tender tycoon Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala is set to face seven additional charges that include murder when he appears in court on Tuesday.

Matlala is expected to appear before the Alexandra magistrate’s court, where the state will apply for the centralisation of seven additional dockets linked to separate investigations.

“There are seven dockets that are under investigation. As the Gauteng jurisdiction division, we have to apply for approval from the national director of public prosecutions to centralise them,” Phindi Mjonondwane, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), said last week.

According to the NPA, two dockets are from Orlando, two from Sandton, two from Pretoria, and one from Vereeniging.

Matlala will appear alongside his co-accused – Musa Kekana, Michael Tau, Tiego Floyd Mabusela, his wife Tsakani Matlala, and Nthabiseng Nzama, who is Mabusela’s daughter.

He is currently in custody for the attempted murder of former Muvhango actress Tebogo Thobejane, who reportedly fled the country in fear for her life following the attack.

At the time, Thobejane was travelling with a friend when their car was sprayed with bullets. While Thobejane sustained a foot injury, her friend was hospitalised for months due to a spinal cord injury.

Police later said an AK-47 and two pistols that were allegedly found in the possession of Tau, Kekana, and Mabusela in April 2024 have since been linked to at least 18 crime scenes, including the murder of musician and nightclub owner Oupa “DJ Sumbody” Sefoka and his two bodyguards.

The firearms were found after the assassination of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart, who had allegedly flagged an irregular tender.

During Madlanga commission, which is probing allegations of criminality and political interference in the criminal justice system, it was revealed that Matlala is a member of a cartel called the “Big Five”.

It is reported that the cartel specialises with drug distribution both locally and internationally, contract killings and cross-boarder hijackings among other things.

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