WATCH | Mkhwanazi allegedly offered to hold off probe into ‘Cat’ Matlala

The head of the Hawks in KwaZulu-Natal, Maj-Gen Lesetja Senona, said Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, the top cop in the province, met with alleged cartel member Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala and promised to halt an investigation of attempted murder against him.

Senona told the Madlanga commission in Pretoria that on April 15 last year he accompanied Matlala to the Pearls of Umhlanga hotel, where he met with Mkhwanazi.

He said he went with Matlala to the meeting because he wanted to offer him moral support, as he considered him a friend or a younger brother.

The meeting was called by former [police] minister Bheki Cele, but he was not there

—  Maj-Gen Lesetja Senona

Senona said that while he was not privy to the discussion between the two, he overheard parts of it.

“The meeting was called by former [police] minister Bheki Cele, but he was not there. To my recollection, [Lt-] Gen [Mkhwanazi] agreed to assist Mr Matlala with purchase orders [for the R360m SAPS tender that Matlala had with police].

“[Lt-] Gen [Mkhwanazi] offered us drinks. Then I heard that he also offered to hold [off an] investigation against Mr Matlala for the alleged attempted murder of [his ex-girlfriend] Tebogo Thobejane in exchange for information on Lt-Gen [Shadrack] Sibiya,” Senona said.

Sibiya, the deputy national commissioner for crime detection, was suspended from duty last year, following allegations made against him by Mkhwanazi, including claims that he procured spy equipment and mishandled 121 investigative dockets related to politically motivated murders.

Thobejane was shot in 2023 while she was travelling with her friend on the N1. Thobejane sustained a foot injury, but her friend sustained a serious spinal cord injury and was in hospital for months.

Matlala was arrested in May 2024 and is currently in custody in the Ebongweni high-security prison in Kokstad.

He is expected to appear at the Johannesburg high court later this week for trial.

Senona has been accused of sharing sensitive information with Matlala in order to enhance the business relationship between his son and Matlala.

However, Senona denied the allegations, calling them speculative and malicious.

Proceedings continue.