The National Prosecuting Authority's (NPA) attempt to secure a plea and sentencing agreement with Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala unravelled this morning after the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria declared the agreement null and void.
The agreement fell apart after the court recommended a sentence of 12 years' direct imprisonment rather than the eight years previously proposed. Rather than accept the court's recommendation, Matlala withdrew from the agreement after consulting with his legal counsel.
At the start of proceedings, the magistrate informed Matlala that the court had been told he wished to withdraw from the plea and sentencing agreement and asked him to confirm his decision.
Matlala requested a brief opportunity to consult his legal counsel before responding.
When the court session resumed, the magistrate again asked Matlala to confirm that he was withdrawing from the agreement because he had declined to accept the court's recommended sentence.
Matlala confirmed that was his decision. The court then ruled that the plea and sentencing agreement was null and void and postponed the matter until 11 September.
Matlala and his co-accused will remain in custody.
Speaking outside court, NPA spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the prosecution accepted the court's ruling and would continue with the case through the regular trial process.
“Definitely, it has collapsed. Obviously, there's a ruling now that the plea agreement is null and void and we really have to accept what the court has indicated,” Kganyago said.
He said the ruling meant none of the information contained in the plea agreement could be used by the prosecution.
“Because now the plea has been deemed to be null and void, nothing that was in that plea can be used. Therefore, we have got to continue with our own investigations,” he said.
Kganyago said the proposed agreement included an affidavit from Matlala that reportedly implicated senior police officials in an alleged rogue tender scheme.
Kganyago said the state would ask the court to rejoin Matlala as accused number one in the main criminal matter when the case returned to court in September.
He said the prosecution's case was not entirely dependent on the plea agreement. “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,” Kganyago said.