Kekana had alcohol, cocaine overdose before his arrest, doctor tells Matlala trial

Records showing that Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala’s co-accused Musa Kekana was previously admitted to hospital after an alcohol and cocaine overdose were placed before the high court in Johannesburg on Monday.

Dr Pooja Panicker, who treated Kekana after his arrest, was testifying in the trial-within-a-trial into allegations that he was tortured during his arrest.

Alleged underworld kingpin and murder accused Matlala and his four co-accused are facing 25 consolidated charges, which include 11 counts of attempted murder and money laundering tied to multiple alleged assassination plots.

The proceedings remain paused for a trial-within-a-trial to assess whether key evidence and admissions obtained during the arrest of alleged hitman Kekana are admissible.

The court heard that Kekana had previously been admitted to hospital, on March 4 2024, for what was recorded as “acute alcohol ingestion and cocaine use”.

According to the medical records, he was “intubated for respiratory acidosis and decreased GCS”, referring to a decreased level of consciousness.

If the patient had an alcohol overdose or alcohol poisoning, it decreases their level of consciousness and it depresses their central nervous system ... This can cause the patient to vomit and your normal reflexes don’t work and then they end up getting aspiration into the lungs

—  Dr Pooja Panicker

The next day, another entry recorded: “Alcohol and cocaine overdose, intubated for decreased level of consciousness and respiratory failure.”

Panicker said the records also showed that doctors were investigating possible aspiration pneumonia.

“Aspiration pneumonia is usually when the patient vomits, and that vomitus then goes into your airway and then ends up in the lungs, causing pneumonia,” she told the court.

Asked how alcohol poisoning could contribute to this, Panicker said an overdose could affect the body’s normal protective responses.

“According to the records, if the patient had an alcohol overdose or alcohol poisoning, it decreases their level of consciousness and it depresses their central nervous system,” she said.

She explained that this could affect “a lot of different organs in the body”, including the patient’s airway reflexes, breathing and circulation.

“This can cause the patient to vomit and your normal reflexes don’t work and then they end up getting aspiration into the lungs,” Panicker said.

However, the doctor said she had not been aware of Kekana’s previous admission when she treated him following his arrest.

The doctor was also questioned about whether severe suffocation would necessarily leave visible injuries. This comes after Kekana had previously told the court that he had been suffocated five times during his time in custody.

She said it could, depending on the severity, but warned that the absence of marks did not rule out suffocation. “Depending on the severity, it can leave marks, but not having marks does not exclude that suffocation had occurred,” Panicker said.

She said she would look for signs including “conjunctival haemorrhages”, marks on the neck, bruising and petechiae, small red spots caused by broken blood vessels.

Patients could also present with cyanosis, she said, where tissues turn blue due to a lack of oxygen. Asked whether she had observed any of these signs when examining Kekana, Panicker said: “Not that I have noted.”

The doctor confirmed that her notes recorded what Kekana had told her during their consultation. “I write what the patient tells me,” she said.

Panicker also confirmed that she had no independent recollection of the incident and relied on her medical notes when giving evidence.

The court adjourned for lunch.

Sowetan