South Africa: Cat Matlala's Ninth Life? Madlanga Gives Key Witness One Last Chance

Commission chairperson Mbuyiseli Madlanga was visibly annoyed by Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala's postponement application on Wednesday, 15 July 2026, asking why he could not answer questions that did not relate to his criminal trial.

In leg-chains and a sober suit, without the garish designer kit he's favoured in previous appearances, criminal mastermind Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala shuffled in and out of the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on 15 July.

Heavily guarded by police in plain clothes, he carried an orange notebook with handcuffs dangling from his suit pants - a much diminished figure from the larger-than-life persona he has become on social media.

Matlala has been granted a postponement to appear before the Madlanga Commission on 1 September, where he is key to the inquiry into criminality, political interference and corruption in the criminal justice system.

He is accused of influencing and bribing politicians for a R228-million police wellness tender. Cabinet ministers and senior police officers, one of whom he gifted a Brazilian butt lift, a complex cosmetic surgical procedure, all fell into this network, the commission has heard.

The hearing on 15 July centred on whether the businessman should be required to file an affidavit and testify before the commission while plea negotiations and possible criminal proceedings remain unresolved. He remains in jail and is due back in court on 20 July to face corruption and other charges after a plea deal collapsed, as...