Madlanga Commission to hear Cat Matlala’s testimony this week | News24
Criminally accused tenderpreneur Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala is set to appear before the Madlanga Commission on Monday and Tuesday after his testimony was brought forward from September.
Commission spokesperson Jeremy Michaels said Matlala would testify under subpoena at 09:30 on Monday, with his evidence continuing on Tuesday.
Matlala initially appeared before the commission on 15 July, when his testimony was postponed to 1 September by chairperson Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga. His appearance has now been brought forward.
As News24 previously reported, the earlier postponement followed arguments from Matlala’s advocate, Annelene van den Heever, that his legal team needed access to material linked to his aborted plea and sentence agreement with the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC).
Matlala had agreed to plead guilty and testify against police officials he allegedly bribed to secure a R360 million police health services tender.
The agreement provided for an eight-year sentence, but he withdrew from it after the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crime Court proposed increasing the sentence to 12 years.
READ | Cat Matlala to be tried after withdrawing from plea deal with State
He now faces trial alongside the police officials he had previously admitted to bribing.
News24 also reported that evidence leader Mahlape Sello opposed the postponement, arguing that the aborted plea deal was irrelevant to the commission’s work.
Sello stressed that evidence given before the commission could not be used against Matlala in his criminal trial.
At the time, Madlanga ordered Matlala to submit his statement by 29 July and set his testimony down for September.
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