By Mapaballo Borotho
- Alleged Big 5 cartel member Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala has challenged KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi to submit a recording of their April 2025 meeting to the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
- Matlala also addressed claims linking him to the disappearance of Pretoria businessman Jerry Boshoga, alleging he was implicated after a dispute involving Boshoga’s phone.
- He returned to the witness stand on Tuesday, where it remains unclear whether he will continue to invoke his right against self-incrimination on certain issues.
Alleged Big 5 cartel member Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala has challenged KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi to hand over the recording of their April 2025 meeting to the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
Matlala told the commission that he does not understand why such an important piece of evidence has not been submitted to an inquiry investigating allegations of crime and corruption within the country’s criminal justice system.
The alleged crime kingpin has been appearing before the commission, where much of the evidence presented by several witnesses has centred around him.
During his appearance before Parliament’s ad hoc committee last year, Mkhwanazi revealed details of the meeting and his alleged interaction with Matlala, which he had reportedly recorded.
Mkhwanazi also told the committee that he regarded Matlala as an informant, claiming that Matlala voluntarily provided intelligence about several other police officials.
The only other person to testify about the meeting before the Madlanga Commission is former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks head Lesetja Senona.
Senona admitted to accompanying Matlala to the Pearls Hotel in Umhlanga, where Matlala met with Mkhwanazi in April 2025.
Senona said that while he was not privy to the conversation between the two, he alleges that Mkhwanazi promised to assist Matlala with his purchase orders.
Highlights from Matlala’s Monday appearance
On Monday, 24 August 2026, Matlala told the commission that Jerry Boshoga’s wife suspected that he had kidnapped her husband after he asked for Jerry’s phone at the request of Jerry’s brother.
He alleges that the phone was taken to ensure that Boshoga’s wife did not come across the phone number of his mistress.
Matlala says the second reason he believes he was implicated is that he told Boshoga’s wife and brother that they should tell police what Jerry was doing before he went missing.
November 2026 will mark two years since Boshoga’s mysterious disappearance. The Pretoria businessman was last seen in November 2024 after attending a business meeting at a food franchise store in Pretoria.
The last relative to see him was his younger brother, who had driven him that day.
Matlala further told the commission that suspended national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya told him that cracking the Boshoga kidnapping case would help him significantly. He says Sibiya made the remark during their second meeting.
The Mamelodi-born businessman returned to the witness stand at the commission sitting in the City of Tshwane on Tuesday, 25 August 2026.
It remains to be seen whether he will continue to refuse to answer questions on several issues, citing his right against self-incrimination.
This is a developing story. For more updates, follow the story on @Kaya News on X as it unfolds.
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