By Johnathan Paoli
Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala has admitted that he misled Parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating allegations of criminal infiltration in the police when he denied ever paying money to former deputy national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya.
Resuming his testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Tuesday, Matlala confirmed that he had made payments to Sibiya, including R500,000 allegedly intended for the wedding of one of the senior police officer’s children.
However, his changing versions and repeated reluctance to answer questions prompted commissioner Sesi Baloyi to accuse him of obstructing the commission.
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“I must say my view has been a complete waste of our time, and if this is how we are going to be proceeding, then at this point, my honest view of you is you’re being obstructive; you’re not helping the Commission in any way, at all,” Baloyi said.
The admissions came during questioning by evidence leader Thabang Pooe, as Matlala continued trying to distance himself from parts of a corruption statement he signed with the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC).
The statement records several payments to Sibiya, which Matlala had previously disputed, claiming investigators had inserted information he had not provided.
However, he confirmed that paragraph 59, which records a payment of R500,000 to Sibiya in the basement of the State Theatre in Pretoria, was correct.
“I provided Sibiya with a further payment of R500 000.00, which I made available to him at the basement of the State Theatre in Pretoria. I am unable to recall the exact dates; however, my company’s banking statements will confirm the time I would have withdrawn large sums of money after the award of the contract. Sibiya informed me that he needed the money for one of his children’s wedding which was taking place somewhere in the North West Province,” the statement reads.
Matlala also confirmed that this was the first payment he had made to Sibiya.
Pooe pointed out that Matlala had previously told a police officer identified as Witness C, who is now in the witness protection programme, that Sibiya regularly asked him for money.
“The guy would always call and ask for money for a wedding or ask indistinct stuff. You know, want to buy a farm, want to, it is different things that he would ask money for,” Matlala said in a recorded interview.
The commission also established that Matlala had told investigators he gave Sibiya R400,000 for the wedding.
He confirmed that a wedding-related payment had been made but declined to explain why he gave the money to Sibiya, citing security concerns.
Matlala subsequently confirmed another payment of R50,000 to Sibiya, allegedly made when the general attended the SAPS Excellence Awards in Durban.
He again refused to explain the circumstances surrounding the payment but told commissioners he would be prepared to provide further details in camera.
Matlala maintained that the R550,000 represented the only money he had paid Sibiya, although the general had made other requests for money.
Commissioner Sandile Khumalo questioned Matlala’s changing versions about the alleged R500,000 payments, pointing out that the commission had heard evidence from Witnesses A and B, as well as an affidavit from its investigator, Bongani Dlamini, supporting the allegations.
“Now you’re sitting there under oath. You want us to believe that what you said in that recording played by witness A and B, it was made up, what is stated here in this affidavit was made up by IDAC. What you allegedly volunteered to the commission’s investigator, you were hallucinating because you were under medication, according to you. What am I supposed to make of this? Must I believe that sitting there today you are telling the truth?” Khumalo said.
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Matlala maintained that he had signed the IDAC statement without properly reading it, claiming he had not been given an opportunity to go through the document.
Baloyi questioned how he could have initialled every page and signed an oath confirming that he understood its contents if he had not read it.
Matlala conceded that signing the statement amounted to a misrepresentation, although he insisted that this had not been his intention.
Baloyi, however, expressed frustration with his continued refusal to provide straightforward answers about the statement.
The commission also confronted Matlala with his evidence before Parliament’s ad hoc committee, where EFF leader Julius Malema asked whether he had ever given Sibiya money.
Matlala had responded, “No, never”, prompting Pooe to ask whether this meant he had misled the committee.
Matlala initially avoided answering, saying he did not want to incriminate himself.
However, after further questioning, Khumalo put it to him that either his evidence before Parliament or his current testimony was false.
Matlala agreed that his evidence before the ad hoc committee had been false.
The commission also examined conflicting accounts of Matlala’s attendance at an engagement party for Sibiya’s son.
Matlala confirmed that he and his wife had been invited to the event through suspended and corruption-accused Organised Crime Sergeant Fannie Nkosi. He said he had spent between one and three hours at the gathering.
This contradicted his earlier evidence before the ad hoc committee, where he denied being invited, telling members: “My wife’s friends are not my friends.”
Pooe put it to him that he had misled Parliament about both the invitation and his attendance at the event.
Matlala again indicated that he wanted to explain the circumstances in camera but eventually agreed that his previous testimony had been false.
He claimed that IDAC investigator Suneel Bellochun had instructed him to include the name of former Independent Police Investigative Directorate head Robert McBride in his statement as someone who had attended the party, despite Matlala now maintaining that McBride was not there.
Commission chairperson Mbuyiseli Madlanga said he was taking Matlala’s security concerns seriously but questioned whether an in-camera hearing would necessarily protect him if those he feared could anticipate the subject of his testimony.
The commission continues.
