Witness C details ‘Cat’ Matlala’s claims to have bribed minister, top cops

Delivering jaw-dropping evidence before the Madlanga Commission on Thursday, 30 October, Witness C claimed that Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala paid R500,000 to fund now-sidelined Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s bid for the ANC presidency.

These revelations, according to Witness C, emerged during an informal meeting with Matlala on 14 May 2025, where he disclosed the details shortly before he was arrested. At the time of his arrest, Matlala had reportedly been coming from the home of former national police commissioner Riah Phiyega, who has since denied the claims.

In a statement on Thursday, Phiyega said Matlala had never visited her home and that she had never met him. 

Witness C, a member of the elite Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) who is testifying anonymously, resumed his testimony on Thursday, picking up from where he left off on Friday, 24 October 2025.

The alleged payment related to Mchunu’s ANC ambitions was made in January 2025, when ANC members attended the party’s 113th anniversary at Cape Town’s Mandela Park Stadium, Khayelitsha, on 11 January 2025.

The Madlanga Commission has previously heard testimony that Brown Mogotsi, an ANC information peddler and alleged middleman between Mchunu and Matlala, requested Matlala to pay at least R250,000 in connection with activities surrounding the ANC’s birthday celebrations.

The revelations didn’t end there. Witness C alleged that Matlala also paid suspended Deputy National Commissioner of Crime Detection Shadrack Sibiya up to R1-million a month in bribes, including R2-million to purchase a plot and 20 impalas, which have since died.

The commission further heard that Matlala allegedly contributed R80,000 towards a party celebrating the promotion of Major General Richard Shibiri, head of the SAPS Organised Crime Unit.

Another senior officer implicated was Major General Feroz Khan, head of counterintelligence at Crime Intelligence, whom the commission heard had demanded R2.5-million from Matlala, of which only R500,000 was allegedly paid.

These allegations demonstrate the possible rot within the top brass of SAPS and how the “Big Five” cartel allegedly infiltrated political and law enforcement circles.

Read more: SAPS commissioner accuses police minister of derailing probe into political killings

In Witness C’s informal discussion with Matlala, the attempted murder accused, feeling used and betrayed by senior SAPS officials despite having kept his side of the bargain by paying them “bribes”, decided to spill the beans.

The ‘Big Five’ cartel

Matlala faces a string of serious charges, including attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, fraud, and defeating the ends of justice, linked to incidents that allegedly unfolded in Johannesburg between 12 and 17 October 2023.

He is accused of plotting the murder of his socialite girlfriend, Tebogo Thobejane, and two other complainants. His co-accused, wife Tsakani Matlala, Nithabising Nzama, Musa Kekana and Teigo Floyd Mabusela, are also charged alongside Katiso “KT” Molefe over the April 2024 murder of Q Tech engineer Armand Swart in Vereeniging.

Matlala’s alleged criminal ties run deeper. Crime Intelligence head Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo told the Madlanga Commission that Matlala is a member of the so-called “Big Five” cartel – an entrenched criminal network allegedly operating within and around the SAPS.

Matlala ‘funded’ Mchunu ANC presidency bid

According to Witness C, before Matlala could be formally charged after his arrest at the Boksburg Police Station on 14 May 2025, he indicated that “he would want us to talk”. This was when an informal interview with Matlala took place.

The commission heard that Matlala alleged: “Mchunu had ambitions to run for president of the ANC, and there were people, including a minister, going around looking for individuals who would contribute to his campaign.”

The commission further heard that Matlala was among those who contributed to Mchunu’s ANC leadership campaign.

In January 2025, he allegedly donated R500,000, covering flight tickets and accommodation for delegates attending the ANC’s 113th anniversary celebration at Mandela Park Stadium in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, on 11 January 2025.

Read more: Cele’s allegations — the murder and the Mchunu project for ANC presidency

“I jokingly asked if he believed Minister Mchunu would succeed in the presidency campaign of the ANC. Matlala indicated that he did not believe that Mchunu would win this campaign, but was afraid to discourage him,” Witness C said.

During testimony concerning the raid on his home on 6 December 2024, Matlala claimed, according to Witness C, that he received direct assistance from the minister and his security team, saying: “The minister, together with his security, used grabber machines to identify the SAPS members who had been investigating and who raided my house on 6 December 2024.”

Mchunu has denied having any relationship with Matlala.

Read more: Mkhwanazi twisted what I said about comrade Brown Mogotsi, Mchunu tells Parliament

Sibiya wanted only cash payments

Matlala is said to have further alleged that Sibiya was “a criminal who loves money”, insisting that he accepted only cash payments, not electronic transfers. 

Matlala detailed how he channelled funds to Sibiya, claiming he made cash drop-offs at Sibiya’s house. To substantiate his alleged corrupt dealings with Sibiya, Matlala provided Witness C with Sibiya’s phone numbers, both in December 2024 and again after his arrest in May 2025.

Matlala further claimed that a Sergeant FE Nkosi, attached to National Organised Crime, the unit under Sibiya’s command, transported the cash from him to Sibiya. Nkosi, he said, also had access to a bank account belonging to Sibiya. 

The funds that Matlala alleged were paid to Sibiya, according to Witness C:

1. When Sibiya’s son got married, Matlala arrived at the event and gave R300,000 to Sibiya in support of the celebration party.
2. Matlala claimed that in January 2025, Sibiya informed him he was buying a plot in Midrand, registered under his wife’s name, for a bed and breakfast for R2-million. Matlala said he personally gave R2-million to Sibiya at his house in Sandton.

“The manner in which I handed this R2-million to Sibiya was simple. I dropped the cash at the estate in Sandton. Sibiya stood outside, inside the estate. I drove in, extended my hand from the car, and Sibiya took it,” said Matlala, according to Witness C.

The commission heard that this was the same Sandton estate where well-known fixer and “blesser” Serge Cabonge resides.

When commission chairperson Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga asked whether there was any paper trail linking the payments, Witness C responded: “At the time of deposing my affidavit, we were still analysing Matlala’s bank statements. He has numerous accounts with significant activity, and the review has not yet been concluded.”

Sibiya, who has testified at Parliament’s ad hoc committee hearing into the policing crisis, admitted to knowing Matlala, but denied any improper relationship. 

Alleged funds to Khan and Shibiri

Another high-ranking police official whose name surfaced during Matlala’s informal interview was Major General Feroz Khan, SAPS head of counterintelligence.

According to information Matlala divulged to Witness C, disciplinary charges had been brought against Khan, who allegedly demanded R2.5-million from Matlala. However, Matlala claimed he paid only R500,000. The commission heard that it remained unclear why Khan requested the money.

Khan was said to have frequently visited Matlala’s Pretoria penthouse, and from May 2025, he allegedly demanded money from time to time during these visits.

Matlala further claimed he once gave Shibiri R80,000 to celebrate his promotion party, a payment reportedly made through a company called Black AKA Trading. When Shibiri expressed dissatisfaction with the transaction, Matlala allegedly reversed the transfer and later paid the same amount in cash.

Read more: Political Killings Task Team member says ‘Cat’ Matlala dropped names of top cops during raid

Matlala, a frustrated man

During the December 2024 raid at his home, Matlala was allegedly advised to open a case of theft for a Rolex and Cartier watch, items he falsely claimed had been stolen by investigators.

According to Witness C, Matlala received this advice from Mogotsi, Mchunu and Sibiya, but no assistance materialised because the alleged theft never occurred, and the case was never registered.

The commission further heard that the trio referred Matlala to a colonel in Gauteng Crime Intelligence, who was instructed to help him open a case against the PKTT and another against the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), both of which remain under investigation. Matlala allegedly believed Mchunu and Sibiya wanted to use the cases to sideline their opponents.

Matlala needed help on two fronts. He was under investigation for the attempted murder of socialite Thobejane, while he also had a police contract worth R360-million, which was eventually cancelled while Mchunu was minister.

Matlala is said to have told Witness C, “The minister, Mogotsi and Sibiya are using me, and failing to protect me.”

Read more: Shadrack Sibiya, Hawks linked to alleged interference in KT Molefe’s arrest

Witness C said Matlala’s communication with Mchunu was mostly conducted via WhatsApp and Signal.

“During my interaction with Matlala, he felt frustrated. On one hand, he had funded Mchunu’s campaign, and in return, he expected the minister to protect him, to stop police from investigating him,” he said.

Following his arrest on 14 May 2025, Matlala revealed that a day earlier, on 13 May 2025, his SAPS tender contract had been cancelled.

He reportedly lamented: “I’m funding the person who has all the power to make things happen for me, yet that person gives me no assistance, only extends a receiving hand.”

According to Witness C, Matlala also recalled an encounter after the murder of Pretoria taxi boss Jothan “Mswazi” Mbisi, another alleged member of the Big Five, in January 2024, when Sibiya allegedly told him: “Please take care of him, and he will take care of me.”

Since then, Matlala claimed, he had continued to financially support Sibiya, yet had received nothing in return. DM