Former national police commissioner Riah Phiyega. (Oupa Nkosi)
Former national police commissioner Riah Phiyega has denied ever meeting alleged crime boss Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, after explosive audio recordings were played before the Madlanga commission this week, implicating senior police officials and politicians in bribery and political interference.
“I categorically and emphatically deny that Mr Matlala was ever present at my home on that date or at any other time,” Phiyega said in a statement.
“I have never met Mr Matlala his accusations are entirely false — a fabrication that must be addressed with urgency.”
Phiyega’s statement comes after the commission heard testimony from Witness C, a member of the KwaZulu-Natal political killings task team, who presented clips from a six-hour recording allegedly capturing Matlala confessing to paying bribes and funding a presidential campaign for suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu.
According to Witness C, the recordings were made during an informal meeting with Matlala in May 2025, shortly before his arrest. He told police officers who arrested him that he had come from Phiyega’s house.
“I respectfully request immediate guidance on the process required to formally dispute and refute these allegations,” she added.
Former police minister Bheki Cele — who earlier accused Mchunu of acting beyond his powers when disbanding the task team — also criticised Phiyega’s leadership, claiming she was appointed to “remove the teeth” of the police during former president Jacob Zuma’s administration.
Cele told MPs that, under Phiyega, operational policing structures were weakened to enable looting, adding that in her handling of the Marikana massacre in 2012 she “threw herself under the bus”.
In the audio, Matlala claimed to have given R500 000 towards Mchunu’s ANC presidential campaign and the party’s 8 January celebrations in Cape Town and 113th anniversary rally in Khayelitsha.
“Mchunu had ambitions to run for president of the ANC. There were people, including the minister, going around looking for individuals who would contribute to his campaign,” Matlala said.
Matlala also boasted about paying R1 million a month to suspended deputy police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya, an additional R2 million to purchase land and R800 000 for a celebration marking the promotion of Richard Shibiri to head of the organised crime unit.
He further claimed to have paid R500 000 to Major-General Feroz Khan, head of counterintelligence at the crime intelligence division, who had requested R2.5 million.
Witness C told the commission that Matlala felt betrayed by senior officers he had allegedly bribed, accusing them of pocketing his money while allowing his R360 million South African Police Service health services tender to be cancelled.
“During my interaction with Matlala, he felt frustrated. On one hand, he had funded Mchunu’s campaign, in return, he expected the minister to protect him, to stop the police from investigating him,” Witness C said.
In one clip, Matlala is heard saying: “I’m funding the person who has all the power to make things happen for me, yet the person gives me no assistance, only extends a receiving hand.”
Cele also told the committee that Matlala had privately complained about being used to fund Mchunu’s alleged presidential ambitions.
In one clip, Matlala allegedly calls Sibiya “a criminal who loves money”, claiming he delivered R300 000 in cash to Sibiya’s home as a wedding gift for his son and later R2 million to a Sandton estate for a land purchase.
“The manner in which I handed this R2 million to Sibiya was simple. I dropped the cash at the estate in Sandton. Sibiya stood outside, inside the estate. I drove in, extended my hand from the car, Sibiya took it,” said Matlala.
Matlala also claimed to have placed R200 000 in a bathroom dustbin when visiting Sibiya about a tender lease dispute, allegedly while Sibiya was acting national commissioner.
In another part of the recordings, Matlala links Sibiya to the late taxi boss Jothan “Mswazi” Msibi, who was believed to be a leader of the Big Five cartel.
“Sibiya told Matlala: ‘Please take care of him — he will take care of me,’” Witness C said.
The recordings also suggest that Matlala’s relationship with Mchunu soured after the minister allegedly ordered National Commissioner Fannie Masemola to cancel his tender.
Matlala claimed Mchunu’s decision was politically motivated and that he had refused to pursue fraud charges against Masemola and KZN Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
“You can open and see the things I wrote today to Brown Mogotsi. Telling him to tell the minister, I did the January 8. My bank statements will show you because the company is the one that paid for the flights, accommodation and money for entertainment and all those things,” Matlala said.
He added that a company called Gaolatlhe was used to transfer the funds.
Matlala’s alleged links to both Mchunu and Sibiya form part of a growing web of corruption claims laid bare by the Madlanga commission and parliament’s ad hoc committee. The inquiries have revealed an entrenched network of cartel influence within the police service, which unravelled after Matlala’s arrest.