Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala has put a spanner in the works for the state by rejecting a proposed 12-year direct prison sentence in his fraud and corruption case linked to an alleged irregularly awarded R228m South African Police Service (SAPS) tender.
This has collapsed the plea and sentence agreement he and the state had entered into.
With the deal off the table, this is what you need to know about what this means for Matlala and the state.
Matlala had entered into a plea agreement with the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) under which he was expected to provide evidence implicating senior police officials who are linked to the alleged irregular awarding of the tender. In exchange, Matlala would get a sentence of eight years.
The agreement was presented to magistrate Ignatius du Preez at the Pretoria specialised commercial crimes court. However, Du Preez instead proposed a sentence of 12 years’ direct imprisonment.
“The accused’s willingness to co-operate with the authority only came on his arrest and on realising they were onto him. I am not persuaded the accused had genuine remorse,” he said.
“I view the accused’s willingness to assist the police as a bargaining tool aimed at securing a lenient sentence.”
Du Preez postponed the matter to allow Matlala’s legal representative to consult with him, and subsequently consult with the state on whether it agreed to the court’s proposed sentence.
However, when the matter returned to court on Monday, Matlala’s attorney Anneline van den Heever told the court her client was unwilling to accept the proposed sentence and was withdrawing from the agreement.
Du Preez declared the plea agreement “null and void”, effectively bringing it to an end.
Speaking outside court, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said Matlala had the right in terms of the law to agree or not agree.
“There had been some engagement but not as we wanted it to be. We arrived at court on Monday not knowing what the decision was going to be. We were as shocked as everyone else, but it comes with the territory, and that is one thing people need to understand. Our court system is very clear,” he said.
“The plea deal is null and void and we have to accept that. It was not with in our control.”
The court heard the plea agreement included an affidavit containing information Idac intended to use to arrest and prosecute additional senior police officials allegedly linked to the corruption scheme.
With the agreement collapsed, that evidence can no longer be used.
“Nothing that was in that plea can be used and therefore we have to continue with our own investigation,” Kganyago said.
Before Matlala entered into the plea deal discussion, he was in the dock with 13 senior officials, including suspended national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola.
To facilitate the plea agreement, Matlala successfully applied for his case to be separated from that of his co-accused, allowing him to appear before a different court. The agreement would also have seen him become a state witness against the remaining accused.
With the plea deal off the table, Matlala is expected to rejoin Masemola and the other accused when their matter resumes.
“Our matter in the other case was not entirely dependent on the plea. We were ready and we have people who were involved. We arrested them on the basis of the evidence we have against them. The plea came after and it was to add more people. Therefore we will do our own investigations,” Kganyago said.
The NPA maintains Matlala was the alleged mastermind behind the multimillion-rand tender award.
According to the allegations, Matlala acted in common purpose with several senior SAPS officials, many of whom served on the bid adjudication committee, to unlawfully secure the R228m tender to conduct health awareness programmes for SAPS employees.
Prosecutors allege Matlala submitted fraudulent documents in support of the bid while officials deliberately overlooked the irregularities to ensure his company was awarded the contract.
He is also accused of paying a R300,000 gratification to his self-described “on and off” girlfriend, police Brig Rachel Matjeng.
Matjeng has since been dismissed from the SAPS and is among the senior officials who will stand trial alongside Matlala.
It was found she had leaked a confidential SAPS roster to Matlala for personal financial gain and had been dishonest about the nature of their financial relationship.
Matlala is expected to appear before the Madlanga commission of inquiry on Wednesday.
Sowetan
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