By Johnathan Paoli
The Madlanga Commission spent Tuesday morning pressing Witness F on a sprawling web of WhatsApp communications involving Deputy National Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya, tenderpreneur Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, and a WhatsApp account saved under the name of late Deputy President David “DD” Mabuza.
Commissioners raised concerns that the witness may have acted as an intermediary in questionable exchanges involving wildlife deliveries, police case information and potential arms dealing.
Evidence leader and senior counsel Matthew Chaskalson began by putting it to Witness F that Sibiya had sent him his private residential address during an earlier interaction.
The witness replied simply: “I’m here at the gate”.
Turning to messages from 4 March 2024, Chaskalson confronted him with a contact card he had sent to Matlala containing Sibiya’s phone number.
“Did you introduce Cat Matlala to General Sibiya?” Chaskalson asked, warning that he could invoke the privilege against self-incrimination.
“No,” the witness responded.
When Chaskalson indicated he had no further questions, Commission Chair Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga intervened sharply, insisting that the evidence leader continue.
He said it was a “direction” of the commission that questioning proceed, stressing that the commission “does not want to create a precedent” allowing witnesses to evade explanation.
“We want to see you ask questions…We do not want to see you give him a free ride,” Madlanga said.
From there, the evidence turned to WhatsApp exchanges between Matlala and Witness F.
At 06:47 on 21 March 2025, Matlala called the witness, then texted “Call me”.
After returning the call, Matlala sent him a voice note.
In it, a man with a heavy Afrikaans accent asks for a “pin drop” indicating “where the impalas must go to”.
Initially denying any recollection, Witness F conceded under pressure that Matlala had indeed sent him the audio.
Within 29 seconds of receiving it, he forwarded it to Sibiya, accompanying it with the message: “Morning’s it’s from Cat”.
WhatsApp logs, presented on screen, showed a flurry of calls between the witness and Matlala, followed by a screenshot from “Rudi Farm Manager” confirming receipt of funds.
Matlala then forwarded Rudi a pin for Sibiya’s home.
Rudi replied: “Everything has been arranged. He will catch the impalas on Sunday and transport it Monday to that location. Is it good?”
Matlala answered: “No problem.”
“These messages appear to suggest that Matlala paid for impalas for Sibiya, which were subsequently delivered to him,” Chaskalson said.
Witness F conceded that it does indeed look like that.
Repeatedly, the evidence leader put it to the witness that he acted as the “go-between” for Matlala and Sibiya.
Each time, Witness F denied knowledge of any arrangement.
“To be honest with you commissioners, I did not ask what was going on there. I just received that message from Mr Matlala, then I immediately forwarded it to General Sibiya,” the witness said.
He speculated that Matlala contacted him only because he may not have been able to reach Sibiya directly.
Attention then turned to a police case number Matlala sent the witness the day before the impala dealings.
Witness F admitted accessing the police system to send Matlala case details, saying he had been told it related to a domestic violence complaint.
Chaskalson countered that the case was, in fact, the murder of Kabelo Richard Mathe, in which “50 cartridge cases were found”.
He put it to the witness that Matlala’s enquiry likely came “on behalf of the perpetrator and not the victim”.
Witness F insisted he had not known this.
The morning’s most startling evidence involved a WhatsApp account saved under the name “DD Mabuza”.
On 15 November 2024, the account sent Witness F an image of a weapon, followed by videos showing its use and detailed pricing for bulk quantities of compact 12-gauge combat shotguns.
When asked directly whether he had previously engaged in any arms dealings with the late deputy president or his nephew, the witness replied: “No I did not.”
Under pressure, he claimed the messages were sent not by Mabuza but by his nephew, Simphiwe Mabuza, using the former deputy president’s phone.
He said he saved the number under DD Mabuza’s name because the nephew was “obsessed” with his uncle.
Commissioners appeared unconvinced.
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