Allegations that businessman Vusimuzi âCatâ Matlala financed three attempted assassinations through company bank accounts will now be tested in court after his long-awaited trial got under way alongside four co-accused in the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Johannesburg on Monday.
Matlala, his wife Tsakani Matlala, Musa Kekana, Tiego Floyd Mabusela and Zandile Nthabiseng Nzama pleaded not guilty to 25 charges arising from three attempted murders allegedly committed between August 2022 and January 2024.
The charges include conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, unlawful possession of prohibited firearms and ammunition, money laundering, fraud, and defeating or attempting to defeat the administration of justice.
After hours of dealing with administrative issues and recording the pleas of the accused, the matter was adjourned until Tuesday, when the State is expected to call its first witness.
The State says it will rely on witness testimony, bank records, cellphone data, forensic ballistics and digital evidence to show that Matlala allegedly financed and directed the attacks while distancing himself from those accused of carrying them out.
Judge Cassim Moosa ordered that the trial proceed uninterrupted from 20 July to 7 August 2026, before resuming from 31 August to 18 September after a short adjournment.
Moosa warned the accused that convictions on the attempted murder charges could attract life imprisonment, while unlawful possession of prohibited firearms and ammunition carried prescribed minimum sentences of 25 and 15 years respectively and, as such, said: âI want you to take an active part in your defence during the course of this trial.
âTo that extent, what I will allow is for each and every accused person to be provided with writing material so that, whilst the evidence of the witnesses is being tendered, you will be able to make notes,â Moosa told the accused.
Following the money
At the heart of the Stateâs case is the financial trail linking payments from Matlala and companies associated with him to some of the accused before and after two of the shootings.
In relation to the attempted murder of Matlalaâs former partner, actress Tebogo Thobejane, in Bryanston on 17 October 2023, the State alleges Matlala transferred R20,000 from one of his companyâs bank accounts on 13 October 2023.
From that amount, R15,000 was allegedly transferred almost immediately to one of the accused who participated in the shooting.
The charge sheet describes the payment as âa portion of the compensation to kill the complainantâ.
The following day, Matlala allegedly transferred a further R100,000 from the same business account.
According to the State, R50,000 of that amount was then transferred to another accused, again constituting âa portion of the compensation to kill the complainantâ.
The State alleges the payments show that money flowed both before the shooting to facilitate the operation and afterwards to compensate those allegedly involved.
The state argues that a similar pattern emerged in the attempted murder of Pretoria DJ Austin Seunkie Mokubong, popularly known as DJ Vetty.
According to the charge sheet, Matlala transferred R10,000 from another company account five days before the shooting.
The State alleges R4,500 was subsequently transferred to one of the alleged gunmen, describing it as âa portion of the compensation to kill the complainantâ.
According to the State, the transactions were not isolated, but formed part of a broader scheme in which money allegedly flowed from Matlala through intermediaries to those accused of carrying out the attacks.
Three attempted murders
The charges relate to three attempted murder incidents.
The first concerns taxi businessman Madoda Johannes Sibanyoni and four other complainants who were allegedly targeted in Centurion on 10 August 2022.
The second relates to actress Tebogo Thobejane, Anele Alicia Malinga and Khumbulani Ncube, who were shot at in Bryanston on 17 October 2023.
The third involves DJ Vetty, Leonard Buhle Masango and Tswarelo Tshepiso Pitse, who were allegedly targeted in Pretoria West on 29 January 2024.
Kekana and Mabusela are accused of carrying out the planned shootings, while Nzama faces money laundering charges for allegedly using her business account to channel more than R100,000 to facilitate the attacks.
Cellphone, forensic and ballistic evidence
The State says the financial evidence will be supported by cellphone records allegedly placing the accused in communication before and after the attacks, and tracking their movements to and from the crime scenes.
It also intends relying on forensic ballistics allegedly linking recovered AK-47 rifles and a 9mm pistol to the shootings.
Taken together, the State argues the evidence demonstrates planning, surveillance, execution and payment.
The R70,000 funeral receipt
One of the more unusual allegations in the charge sheet concerns what the State describes as an attempt to disguise the purpose of one of the payments.
The State alleges that after investigators began probing the financial transactions, Matlalaâs wife Tsakani obtained a R70,000 funeral receipt.
According to the accused, the receipt was generated âout of sequenceâ shortly before Matlalaâs bail application and was intended to support an explanation that the transfers related to funeral expenses.
The State disputes that explanation, alleging instead that the receipt was created to conceal the true purpose of the payments. The allegation forms the basis of additional fraud and defeating the administration of justice charges.
A âwatertightâ case
Speaking to journalists before proceedings began, national police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe described the start of the trial as âa significant milestone in the pursuit of justiceâ.
Referring to the Thobejane shooting, Mathe said one of the victims lived with life-changing injuries.
âThere is a lady who till today cannot walk. Sheâs still on crutches. She had to drop out of school, go back home in another province and really, her life has changed.â
Mathe said police were confident the evidence would establish each accusedâs role.
âWith the information we have gathered, the resources that we had pulled together, we are quite confident that we will be able to unpack each accusedâs role in each case. We are quite confident we have a watertight case.â
She said the investigation widened after Gauteng detectives investigating the murder of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart arrested four alleged hitmen, including Kekana and Mabusela, and recovered three firearms.
âThose particular firearms opened a can of worms. We have linked them to more than 30 serious and violent cases,â she said.
The NPAâs Magaboke Mohlatlole said the State was trial-ready and would present witness testimony along with forensic, ballistic, digital and cellphone evidence.
âThe National Prosecuting Authority remains committed to ensuring that all prosecutions are conducted fairly, independently and without fear, favour, or prejudice. The NPA will continue to place all relevant and admissible evidence before the court in pursuit of justice for the victims and the broader community,â Mohlatlole said.
The beginning of this trial comes just a week after Matlala withdrew from his plea and sentence agreement with the State in the R228-million SAPS Medicare24 fraud case, forcing the State to prepare for a full trial in that matter as well.
Under the plea agreement, Matlala had admitted to fraud, corruption and money laundering arising from the alleged rigging of the SAPS tender. In return, he was set to receive an effective eight-year prison sentence after being handed a 15-year term, with seven years suspended.
The trial resumes on Tuesday, when the State is expected to call its first witness and begin presenting the financial, cellphone and forensic evidence it says links the five accused to the three attempted murders. DM