WATCH | Cat Matlala, KT Molefe back in court for centralisation of dockets

Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala and Katiso “KT” Molefe are expected to appear before the Alexandra magistrate’s court on Tuesday for the centralisation of their cases.

They will be joined by their co-accused and suspected hitmen, former police officer-turned-rogue Michael Pule Tau, as well as Tiego Floyd Mabusela and Musa Kekana.

This as prosecutors move to consolidate multiple criminal dockets that connect them through shared weapons and overlapping investigations – including the murder of popular musician DJ Sumbody (Oupa John Sefoka) and the attempted murder of Matlala’s ex-girlfriend, Tebogo Thobejane.

Matlala faces charges of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and money laundering, linked to the 2023 attempted assassination of Thobejane.

The Alexandra magistrate’s court refused bail early in September, and when he appealed, the Johannesburg high court denied him bail in October.

Both rulings found that “the applicant has failed to demonstrate that he does not pose a flight risk” and that he might “interfere with state witnesses and the administration of justice.”

Meanwhile, Katiso “KT” Molefe – who had been denied bail at the Alexandra magistrate’s court – appealed the decision at the high court and was granted R400,000 bail.

Molefe and his co-accused (Tau, Mabusela, and Kekana) are charged in the 2022 murder of DJ Sumbody and his two bodyguards. He has also been linked to the murder of engineer Armand Swart in April 2024 as well as other murders.

Ballistics evidence presented has shown that firearms recovered following Swart’s murder are linked to at least 18 different murders or attempted murders, including Sefoka’s death, the assassination of DJ Vintos and the killing of Don Tindleni.

Witnesses at the Madlanga commission have testified that Molefe and Matlala form part of a syndicate known as the Big Five cartel, allegedly involved in drug trafficking, extortion, contract killings, cross-border vehicle theft and the hijacking of state tenders.

Sowetan