Cat Matlala testimony suggests Idac sought to implicate Masemola in more crimes

Tenderpreneur Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala’s testimony at the Madlanga commission suggests that Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) officials sought to implicate National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola in additional crimes.

On Tuesday, Matlala returned to the commission and continued his testimony based on his Section 204 statement, which was drafted for his plea deal.

Before testifying on Monday, Matlala warned the commission that he might not be able to explain some matters in his statement, as he did not draft it himself. He said Idac officials may have included false claims in his statement.

On Tuesday, Matlala highlighted these claims, while also exposing himself as having misled Parliament’s ad hoc committee.

Masemola charges

In April, Masemola was issued with a court summons, facing charges related to the contravention of the PFMA, relating to the irregular awarding of a R360 million Saps contract to Matlala’s company, Medicare24 Tshwane District.

When former Idac head Andrea Johnson testified before the commission in July, commissioners questioned Johnson about the charges against Masemola and how Idac became involved in the case.

Commission chair Mbuyiseli Madlanga took issue with Masemola being lumped in with people, including Matlala, charged with corruption and fraud, even though his charges were unrelated. He also questioned Johnson about what information she relied on to reach the conclusion that the charges had met the threshold for an Idac mandate.

Although Johnson accepted that Masemola’s case should have been separated from the rest and that the optics were not good for him, she insisted it was not done to embarrass him.

Masemola has since been cleared of the charges and has returned to work.

‘Idac wrote that’

Parts of Matlala’s statement read: “[Shadrack] Sibiya said to me in Fannie’s [Masemola] presence that I can see how Fannie is trying to help and I should organise some more money for Fannie as he is also going to help to ensure that complaints against Medicare are handled.”

Matlala accused Idac of making up this statement, reiterating that he never said it.

“After the payment of the R500 000 referred to above and after some passage of time, I was informed by Sibiya that he needed another R500 000. Sibiya told me that the first R500 000 I gave him was handed over to Fannie.”

Sibiya payment

He refused to comment on the first part about paying Sibiya, out of fear of incriminating himself. However, he said Idac officials made up the second part about Masemola receiving R500 000. Had Matlala’s plea deal been successful, Masemola would have been investigated for this payment.

Matlala further told the commission that the R500 000 he allegedly paid Sibiya was for his child’s wedding. However, he refused to explain why he felt compelled to give Sibiya money.

However, his statement contradicted his testimony at the ad hoc committee, where he said he had never given Sibiya money.

“So you would have then lied or misled the ad hoc committee in this regard?” asked the commissioners.

“This is why I said I do not want to incriminate myself,” responded Matlala.

He was further exposed for contradicting himself after saying he was not invited to Sibiya’s child’s engagement party and only went there to fetch his wife, who had been invited. At the commission, he said Sibiya had indeed invited him through Fannie Nkosi.