Attempted murder accused Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala has accused the police investigating his criminal case of manipulating his phone and planting evidence in it.
Testifying before parliament’s ad-hoc committee on Thursday, Matlala also claimed that some WhatsApp messages mentioned to the ad-hoc committee by other witnesses had been edited.
“They [police] did it to plant evidence,” he said.
During proceedings, Matlala was taken through WhatsApp messages allegedly between himself and businessman Brown Mogotsi.
The messages discussed the political killings task team (PKTT) and indicated that dockets were being sent to the office of the deputy national commissioner for crime detection, Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya.
Matlala was also asked what he meant when he said he “made a conscience (sic) decision to support the minister” [former police minister Bheki Cele] .
Matlala did not dispute that the WhatsApps messages were between himself and Mogotsi but said he was merely entertaining Mogotsi on the advice of Cele, as doing so could lead to the suspension of police minister Senzo Mchunu.
“I was trying to string him [Mogotsi] along,” he said, adding that he was not supportive of the PKTT and had never met Mchunu.
However, he disputed the authenticity of most of the text messages presented to the committee.
“I even brought my phone here [to the ad hoc committee] so that the honourable members would see that I was arrested on the 14th of May, [and that] after [the arrest], my phone was still operating.
“They police] [even took screenshots. WhatsApp chats. And then those screenshots, I believe, that’s where they downloaded those messages from. There is no way that after the 14th [May] I could have been using my phone. It is impossible.”
He also claimed that witnesses who had appeared before the Madlanga commission, which is probing the same allegations as the parliamentary ad hoc committee, had manipulated his voice.
“They [the witnesses] made me say things that I did not say. So, now sitting here again, responding to things that I do not have control over, it’s going to be very difficult for me,” he said, adding he had proof of how the manipulation had been done.
When asked if he disputed being referred to as Dlamini in the messages, Matlala again insisted his phone had been manipulated.
He said Dlamini was his grandmother’s surname and added that he did not have an ID or passport under the name Dlamini.
He said it was possible that his number might have been saved under the name Dlamini.
Sowetan
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