Alleged underworld fixer Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala to testify before parliament, shedding light on police corruption and state capture.
Parliamentarians are heading to Kgosi Mampuru Prison – not to inspect conditions, but to hear from Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, alleged underworld fixer and political middleman. It promises to be a surreal spectacle.
However, if the latest revelations from the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry are anything to go by, the real scandal may not be what Matlala says, it could be about how many in police uniform already live in the shadows he’s accused of navigating.
This week, retired Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) deputy chief Revo Spies dropped a bombshell: 275 EMPD officers were found to have criminal records in 2022, while 100 others were awaiting trial for serious offences, including murder, rape, robbery and fraud.
And instead of swift accountability, Spies faced obstruction from within: suspended deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi allegedly raged against the vetting process, refused to submit fingerprints for 211 officers and invoked the city manager to stop the process.
It’s a damning portrait of a department where the badge is no longer a symbol of service, but a shield for impunity.
Enter Matlala, a man whose name has surfaced in allegations of political interference, police capture and organised crime.
His testimony before the parliamentary ad hoc committee, possibly to be heard on 26, 27 and 28 November, is being framed as a potential breakthrough in understanding how criminal networks infiltrate state institutions.
But the EMPD saga suggests we already know. The rot isn’t theoretical. It’s administrative. It’s procedural. It’s wearing a uniform.
How does a man convicted of assault or rape end up patrolling the streets?
How does a deputy chief bypass the conferment process and allegedly bully clerks into handing over rank insignia? How does a city manager allegedly intervene to halt a lawful vetting process?
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These aren’t questions for Matlala alone. They’re questions for the entire political-administrative complex that allowed this culture to fester.
When Matlala testifies, expect drama. He’ll likely cast himself as a misunderstood operator, a scapegoat for a system that used him and discarded him. He may reveal names, or drop just enough innuendo to keep the headlines spinning.
But whether he delivers truth or performance, the real test is what parliament does with it.
Will MPs interrogate with rigour, or posture for the cameras? Will they connect the dots between Matlala’s alleged influence and the institutional decay laid bare by Spies? Or will this be another performance; a spectacle of oversight that ends in silence?
The EMPD revelations are not just shocking, they’re systemic. They point to a recruitment process that failed, a vetting process that was sabotaged and a leadership culture that rewarded defiance over discipline.
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When over 300 officers carry criminal baggage, the question isn’t whether the police are compromised. It’s whether the public is safe.
And when parliament must go to prison to hear the truth, it’s not just Matlala who’s on trial. It’s the state itself.
If this moment is to mean anything, it must lead to tough action. The EMPD must be overhauled – not with cosmetic reshuffles, but with forensic audits, independent vetting and criminal prosecutions where warranted.
The city manager, HR officials, and legal advisors who allegedly protected Mkhwanazi must be held to account.
And parliament must treat Matlala’s testimony not as a curiosity, but as a thread in a wider tapestry of state capture – one that stretches from municipal boardrooms to national command centres.
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Because if the “Cat” is caged, but the system that fed him remains untouched, then we’ve learned nothing. And the next Matlala is already waiting in the wings: uniform pressed, insignia claimed and fingerprints conveniently missing.
