'CAT' MATLALA ADMITS GUILT: KEY POLICE TENDER FIGURE TAKES PLEA DEAL, TURNS STATE WITNESS IN R228M SAPS GRAFT CASE

Vusimusi 'Cat' Matlala pleads guilty to all seven counts of fraud, corruption and money laundering linked to Medicare24 deal. Faces 15 years, 7 suspended, after agreeing to expose high-ranking officials in police corruption scandal

Vusimusi 'Cat' Matlala, a central figure in the R228-million SAPS tender scandal, pictured in court. Matlala pleaded guilty to all seven charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering linked to his company Medicare24. Pretoria, June 2026.

By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief

The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.  

AZANIAFROCOMEDIA – The Catalyst of Impact

PRETORIA, 25 June 2026 – Alleged underworld figure Vusimusi 'Cat' Matlala has pleaded guilty to all seven charges in the R228-million SAPS tender corruption case tied to his company, Medicare24.

Matlala, 49, made a brief appearance in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Thursday after two months of negotiations with prosecutors. He will now turn state witness.

The State and Matlala agreed that the court deviate from minimum sentences and for the sentences to run concurrently. The agreed sentence is 15 years direct imprisonment with seven years suspended.

State advocate Santhos Manilall told the court the deal is worth the sacrifice of a more lenient sentence. For the first time we have an accused who has given us detail that we would not have been made aware of.

Matlala was accused of bribing top police officials to win a 360m rand tender for his health company Medicare24 in 2024. As part of the deal, Matlala drafted a statement disclosing the involvement of several high-profile people in the matter and other such matters. He is required to give honest and frank testimony at future trials.

The plea deal has not yet been accepted by the magistrate. A ruling is expected next week. Police chief Gen Fannie Masemola is one of those facing charges in relation to this case. He has denied the charges.

The Democratic Alliance blasted the arrangement as a sweetheart deal and a betrayal of accountability, warning it shows a two-tier justice system where one of the country's most prominent corruption accused is allowed to negotiate what amounts to a discounted sentence.

Matlala’s case has been separated from the main fraud and corruption proceedings linked to the Medicare24 tender and will now proceed independently in the regional court.

He is also facing a separate murder charge that he denies. Matlala was named by a witness at the Madlanga Commission as being part of a drug-trafficking cartel that has penetrated the police. He has not commented on that accusation but told a parliamentary inquiry last year he did not know senior police officers and politicians personally.

The Madlanga Commission, set up after Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi alleged organised crime groups had infiltrated government, continues to hear testimony of collusion between criminal underworld figures and senior police officials. Matlala has yet to appear before it.

For now, the man at the centre of one of South Africa’s biggest police graft probes has admitted guilt. The question is who he takes down with him.