In Pretoria, Vusimusi "Cat" Matlala, a central figure in South Africa’s police graft inquiry, has entered a guilty plea to corruption, fraud and money‑laundering. The charges stem from an alleged 360‑million‑rand ($22 m) tender win for his health company, Medicare24, in 2024.
Under the plea deal—still pending magistrate approval—Matlala will provide testimony against high‑ranking officials, including Police Chief Fannie Masemola, who is facing separate charges but denies wrongdoing. State prosecutor Santhos Manilall said the negotiations took almost two months, and that the evidence Matlala supplies is unprecedented.
If the deal is accepted, the 49‑year‑old could serve up to eight years in prison. The state’s lawyers argue the plea’s leniency is justified by the potential to clear other corrupt officers.
Matlala also faces a separate murder charge he denies, and a witness at the Madlanga Commission, the parliamentary inquiry into police corruption, has named him as part of a drug‑trafficking cartel that has infiltrated the National Police Service.
The commission, launched after Lt‑Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi alleged organised crime groups inside the police, seeks to expose collusion between criminals and senior officers.
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