Businessman Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala has until 13 July to decide whether to accept a revised plea agreement that would see him serve an effective 12-year prison sentence, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says.
The decision will determine whether an affidavit in which Matlala implicates other suspects can be used as part of the agreement.
NPA spokesperson Kazer Kganyago said the Independent Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) was awaiting Matlala's response to the revised deal.
"The agreement in principle is there. It is just the sentence that is different," Kganyago said.
The original plea agreement, negotiated between the state and Matlala, proposed an effective eight-year prison sentence. However, the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court rejected the agreement on Wednesday after Magistrate Ignatius du Preez found the sentence too lenient.
"The magistrate came with a sentence that was more than what we had proposed. We are comfortable with what the magistrate said, and we want to wait for the other party," Kganyago said.
He said plea agreements were based on compromise rather than the preferences of either party.
"When we do a plea agreement like that it is not about what IDAC wants. It's a give-and-take arrangement, which is why it had to be placed before the court," he said.
Kganyago said that if Matlala accepted the revised agreement before 13 July, the parties could ask the court to hear the matter sooner.
"If this collapses, we have to go back to square one and continue prosecuting the accused who are before the court while gathering additional evidence because we cannot use what was contained in the affidavit," he said.
He said the affidavit formed part of the plea negotiations and could not be used if the agreement was not finalised.
On Wednesday, Du Preez rejected the proposed plea agreement, finding that an effective eight-year prison sentence was not proportionate to the seriousness of the offences.
"I find that a sentence of 15 years' imprisonment, of which seven years are suspended, resulting in an effective period of eight years' incarceration, is not just," the magistrate said.
He indicated that an effective 12-year prison sentence would be appropriate instead.
Matlala pleaded guilty on 25 June to fraud, corruption and money laundering charges arising from the R360 million Medicare24 tender awarded by the South African Police Service (SAPS).
He admitted paying more than R300 000 in bribes to Brigadier Rachel Matjeng, a SAPS forensic services official with whom he was in a romantic relationship. Matjeng referred SAPS members to Matlala's company for medical screening.
Matjeng was dismissed from the SAPS on 30 June after a disciplinary hearing found her guilty of financial gratification, money laundering and improper conduct.
The tender was initially advertised at about R228 million but was ultimately awarded to Medicare24 Tshwane District for approximately R360 million. Suspended national police commissioner Fannie Masemola cancelled the contract in May 2025 after an internal audit identified irregularities.
Du Preez also rejected the argument that Matlala's willingness to cooperate with investigators demonstrated genuine remorse.
"I view the accused's willingness to assist the authorities as a bargaining tool aimed at securing a more lenient sentence," he said.
The magistrate noted that Matlala had offered to cooperate only after he had been arrested and detained on another matter.
"The accused's willingness to cooperate with the authorities followed only after his arrest, and upon realising the authorities were onto him," he said.
Du Preez added that the responsibility for uncovering corruption rested with law enforcement agencies, not accused persons.
"The duty to investigate and prosecute those who corrupt the institution of state rests upon the South African Police Service and the National Prosecuting Authority, and not upon the accused," he said.
Matlala has until 13 July to decide whether to take the revised 12 year plea deal which will determine whether the state can use his witness affidavit to prosecute other suspects.