Former police minister Bheki Cele allegedly arranged the meeting with Mkhwanazi.
Alleged crime kingpin and tenderpreneur Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala has claimed that he met with KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, while also reiterating that former police minister Bheki Cele initially sought R1 million from him.
Matlala resumed his testimony from the Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Centre in Pretoria on Thursday before parliament’s ad hoc committee.
The businessman — currently facing attempted murder charges related to an alleged plot to kill his former partner, Tebogo Thobejane — previously told the committee that Cele demanded payment following his assistance in retrieving firearms seized from Matlala during two police raids in December 2024.
Matlala said he ultimately handed over R300 000 to Cele in January this year at the alleged underworld figure’s Menlyn Maine penthouse in Pretoria, followed by a second payment of R200 000 at the Beverly Hills Hotel in KZN in March.
Mkhwanazi had earlier retracted his claim that Cele accepted money from Matlala.
Cat Matlala payments to Cele
Continuing his evidence on Thursday, Matlala told the committee that the cash he gave to Cele was withdrawn from the bank account of his company, Medicare24 Tshwane District.
The company had secured a R360 million contract with the South African Police Service (Saps), which was terminated in May after R48 million had been paid out.
He explained that the initial R300 000 was withdrawn on his behalf by his sister, Claudette Masethe, because he was no longer listed as a director of Medicare24.
Matlala said he fetched the money from her at the bank after walking from his penthouse through Menlyn Mall.
The cash was placed inside a Woolworths shopping bag.
“He actually wanted R1 million,” Matlala told evidence leader Norman Arendse.
According to Matlala, Cele complained to the late Bongani “Mabonga” Mpungose that he had assisted Matlala, yet received nothing in return.
Confused, Matlala said he reminded Cele that he was letting him stay in his apartment, but the former minister reportedly responded that such accommodation won’t pay his bills.
“He said to me that if you can give me R1 million, he will appreciate that.”
‘The money bag’
For the second payment, Matlala said he asked one of his protectors to retrieve a bag containing R200 000 from his vehicle.
“I always operate with a Woolies bag. That’s the money bag.”
He stated that the money was handed to Cele in his red Jeep before the former minister drove away.
READ MORE: Cat Matlala spills on ‘R500k payout’ to Cele, police raids and the ‘Brown Mogotsi situation’
Matlala said Cele had phoned him beforehand and simply instructed him to “do something”.
“So whatever I had at that time, I’ll just go and drop it [the money] off.”
He added that bank records would corroborate the withdrawals.
Matlala also testified that he stopped answering Cele’s calls shortly before his arrest on 14 May because the former minister kept requesting more money.
Meeting with Mkhwanazi
Matlala then described his alleged April meeting with KZN commissioner Mkhwanazi at The Pearls of Umhlanga.
A day earlier, he had told the committee that Mkhwanazi informed him that Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya were attempting to salvage the R360 million tender rather than end it.
However, National Commissioner Fannie Masemola was pressing for the contract to be cancelled.
Matlala claimed Mkhwanazi told him that Saps official Lineo Nkhuoa, not Masemola, was responsible for overseeing the tender.
According to Matlala’s version, Nkhuoa was allegedly aligned with a previous service provider.
He further alleged that Mkhwanazi offered his help in speaking to Nkhuoa, but only if Matlala could intervene in a torture complaint filed against him with the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).
READ MORE: Saps CFO describes Cat Matlala contract as an ’embarrassment’
Matlala said this included persuading the complainant to withdraw their case and instead implicate Sibiya and Mchunu.
On Thursday, Matlala added that it was Cele who arranged the meeting with Mkhwanazi.
He said he complained to Cele about not receiving purchase orders from his Medicare24 contract, and the former minister told him that because Mkhwanazi was close to Nkhuoa, he would set up a meeting.
Matlala said KZN Hawks head Lesetja Senona, whom he described as his “big brother”, accompanied him to the Pearls.
Senona drove him there in a Volkswagen Polo, where Mkhwanazi was waiting nearby in a Mercedes C-Class coupé.
‘Reeks of corruption’
During the discussion, Matlala said Mkhwanazi assured him he would speak to Nkhuoa to ensure the purchase orders were processed.
He claimed that Mkhwanazi even provided him with Nkhuoa’s home address, leading him to believe he would be expected to pay her.
Matlala’s affidavit stated: “The message I got was clear. If I wanted my contract to proceed smoothly, I would need to work with her and give her money, or my contract would be terminated.”
Arendse remarked that, if true, the arrangement “reeks of corruption”, highlighting that Matlala had already received millions from the Saps tender.
“You are now becoming a party to it,” Arendse told him.
But Matlala insisted that he pursued “every avenue” to understand why purchase orders had dried up.
“I didn’t get any answer, so that’s why I ended up going directly to her [Nkhuoa] to get answers.
“I have been sending demanding letters that [say], ‘Why am I not being paid? Why am I not getting any work anymore?’ So these things frustrate you.”
He acknowledged that while his actions might not have been unlawful, they were “unethical”.
Matlala further confirmed that he did not have WhatsApp messages with Mkhwanazi and that this was the only time he had ever met the KZN police commissioner.
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