By Marcus Moloko
When the ad hoc committee convened this week, the chamber at Kgosi Mapuru Prison was less a forum of accountability but more a runway of audacious style, with the main character Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala’s fashion sense a statement that couldn’t be avoided.
Day 1 and Day 2 turned heads, whispered tongues, and appeared to remind everyone that even in the shadow of accusations, opulence can be its own armor.
Matlala arrived on Day 1, draped in a tailored white shirt that seemed less about governance and more about dominance.
With clearly distinguishable Burberry tapering around the collar, coupled with tan chinos, also tailored, meant Matlala conveyed a message of opulence and quiet rebellion.
His shoes were also clearly branded, and spoke of a man who refused to let the dust of scandal cling to him.
Day 2
If day 1 was the introduction, day two was about reassurance. Matlala stepped into the committee chamber in a black, clearly tailored onsamble, effortlessly paired with a Fendi shirt, which retails between R 10 000 and R 20 000.
It was a softer palette, but no less commanding. The choice of linen suggested leisure, a man unbothered by the weight of proceedings, while the gold accents whispered of wealth and indulgence.
The looks evoked the same paradox that Nandipha Magudumana and Thabo Bester embodied during their appearance after they were nabbed.
What makes Matlala’s fashion sense remarkable is not just the clothes themselves, but the context in which they are worn. Here is a man accused, yet dressed as though he were attending a gala. The committee chamber became his catwalk, and every outfit was a reminder that high maintenance is not a flaw but a strategy.
In this narrative, jail is not the headline but the footnote. The whispers of trouble are drowned out by the gleam of cufflinks, the sheen of silk shirts, and the polish of leather.
Matlala’s fashion sense insists that opulence is the story, and scandal merely the subplot.
- Images from @justSecuCluster and @ParliamentRSA
As the ad hoc committee continues its work, one thing is certain, Matlala has mastered the art of turning scrutiny into spectacle.
His wardrobe is not just clothing, it is a definitive manifesto. And in that manifesto, troubles are temporary, but style is eternal.
INSIDE POLITICS