Alleged crime boss Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala has withdrawn from a plea and sentencing agreement with the State after objecting to a proposed 12-year prison sentence in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
Matlala made a brief appearance in court on Monday morning in connection with the R228 million SAPS tender corruption case involving his alleged company, Medicare24.
The development follows Matlala’s guilty plea to several counts of fraud and money laundering, as well as his agreement to testify for the State.
The original plea agreement proposed a minimum sentence of 15 years’ direct imprisonment, with seven years suspended.
However, the presiding officer, Judge Ignatius du Preez, rejected the proposed sentencing arrangement, finding that it would not be in the interests of justice given the seriousness of the offences. He also declared Matlala’s affidavit, submitted as part of the plea agreement, null and void.
Meanwhile, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has confirmed that it will continue with its own investigation, as it can no longer rely on any evidence provided by Matlala under the now-withdrawn agreement.
“We have got to continue with our own investigations from IDAC’s side. Our matter in the other case was not dependent on the plea. We had already arrested people who were involved in this, and therefore, we arrested them on the basis of the evidence we had against them. The plea came afterwards merely to identify additional individuals who were involved,” said NPA spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago.
Kganyago added that the NPA will apply to have Matlala cited as Accused No. 1 when the matter returns to court on 11 September.
