By Marcus Moloko
Parliament’s ad hoc Committee hearing on criminal networks within the South African Police Service took a strange and domestic turn, as Tenderpreneur businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala alleged that he once delivered up to R500 000 in cash to former Police Minister Bheki Cele.
According to Matlala, the cash was neatly packed inside a Woolworths shopping bag.
Matlala said Cele had requested R1 million, which forced him to minimize ties with the former police top cop.
Cele has not responded publicly to the allegations, but the images and videos of Woolies bag’s on social media had some social media users finding new ways to flaunt their own shopping bags.
- Video by @KingMntungwa on social media
The committee’s work is serious, to probe alleged criminal networks within SAPS, yet the detail of a Woolies bag stuffed with cash injected a surreal, almost comic element into proceedings. It highlighted how ordinary objects can become symbols of extraordinary accusations.
The #WooliesBagChallenge
Imagine car dealerships reporting customers arriving with Woolies bags, joking: “I’m here to pay cash, minister-style.”
In a country where politics often feels like theatre, the Woolies bag has become both prop and punchline.
While Parliament wrestles with allegations of corruption, ordinary South Africans have remixed the story into everyday humor.
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