KwaZulu-Natal Hawks head Major-General Lesetja Senona has claimed that murder accused Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala closely followed police work in the province because he admired the unit’s successes.
Senona made the claim while attempting to justify why he forwarded a series of news articles and sensitive police-related information to Matlala over an extended period. He was testifying for a second day at the Madlanga Commission in Pretoria, where he faced sustained questioning from Evidence Leader Advocate Adila Hassim and commissioners.
Among the material Senona sent to Matlala was an eNCA news article quoting KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi as saying he was not interested in becoming national head of the Hawks following the retirement of General Godfrey Lebea.
“Remember, Mr Matlala was also one of the people who admired our coordination and the successes that we achieved. I just shared,” Senona told the commission, prompting an immediate and sceptical response from the commissioners.
Commissioner Sandile Khumalo challenged Senona’s explanation, asking whether the article was shared because Matlala admired his work with Mkhwanazi or whether it was sent without any reason to believe Matlala would be interested.
“It was randomly shared,” Senona insisted, adding that Matlala was among those aware of the goodwill enjoyed by police in KwaZulu-Natal. He attempted to downplay the seriousness of his actions by describing the message as incidental.
Khumalo rejected this version, saying there had to be a specific reason for choosing that article, which was widely available to the public. He pointed out that Senona sent the article a day after learning that the Hawks — the unit Senona belongs to — was investigating Matlala.
Beyond media articles, Senona also sent Matlala internal police documents, including personal details of officers involved in the investigation and arrest of a Mozambican national identified as Nangi, an alleged drug dealer and kidnapping kingpin.
Nangi later accused police of assault and laid complaints against the same officers. Senona shared the officers’ personal details with Matlala, along with records related to Nangi’s complaint, including his affidavit.
Nangi was also discussed during a meeting between Matlala and Mkhwanazi in KwaZulu-Natal — a meeting Senona facilitated but claimed he did not participate in. Senona told the commission he was not part of the discussion as he was drinking alcohol offered to him by a fellow senior officer.
When pressed by Khumalo on why he sent confidential police documents, Senona changed his explanation, claiming he wanted to warn Matlala that a dangerous kidnapper had been arrested and lived in an estate near Matlala’s residence.
That explanation was swiftly rejected. Commissioner Sisi Baloyi bluntly told Senona: “You are lying.”