Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala has admitted to having a business relationship with businessman Hangwani Morgan Maumela, a central figure in the Tembisa Hospital corruption scandal.
Matlala told the Madlanga Commission on Tuesday that he and Maumela initially invested about R1 million each in a business venture to secure medical supply contracts from the Gauteng Department of Health.
This comes after Matlala refused to respond to questions about his relationship with Maumela in fear of self-incrimination.
However, evidence leader Mahlape Sello said Matlala was not a suspect in the Tembisa Hospital procurement scandal and therefore could not claim privilege.
Matlala and Maumela established a company through which they responded to requests for quotations (RFQs) for government contracts and shared the profits.
Matlala said they pooled their money, about R1 million each, in a bank account and used the funds to finance contracts when they secured RFQs.
“We opened a neutral company and had money in the bank for that specific business. We pooled funds together and from those funds, if we got a contract, each one would take money for that purpose.”
Matlala said the pair received their first RFQ from the Gauteng Department of Health in 2018 and that the business generated about R5m over the next five years.
He said they would approach suppliers of medical consumables and provide them with money upfront to secure stock.
“If you are a supplier and we need to buy stock from your company, we would put money into your company, take stock and you would tell us how much is left and we would keep on adding money into that contract.”
Matlala said he and Maumela would each receive 10% from the profits generated from the supplier deals.
“He contributed money because there is money that we put in the main supplier account. And we agreed that whoever gets RFQs first, we can take money from there but he'd have to give me 10% of the profit,” said Matlala.
He said their business dealings involved numerous projects, making it difficult for him to recall them all.
Matlala said his relationship with Maumela began through their shared interest in luxury sports cars in about 2015 or 2016.
“We both have a passion for sports cars,” he said.
Matlala initially claimed legal privilege and invoked his right against self-incrimination when questioned about his relationship with Maumela and their business dealings.
The commission, however, asserted that Matlala was not a suspect in the Special Investigating Unit’s case against Maumela and therefore could not claim privilege.
The SIU has identified Maumela as a central figure in the Tembisa Hospital procurement scandal. The investigation found that companies linked to his network benefited from irregular procurement at the hospital.
Maumela allegedly siphoned up to R820m from Tembisa Hospital through a massive web of procurement fraud. The SIU uncovered that his network allegedly used dozens of front companies to secure more than 1 700 irregular purchase orders.
The National Prosecuting Authority's Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) secured a court order to permanently seize R326m worth of assets linked to the syndicate. The seized property includes high-end mansions; a fleet of supercars, among them multiple Lamborghinis and a Bentley; a luxury boat; and a multipurpose trailer.
Matlala also faced questions about his relationship with suspended deputy national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya.
He denied having a close relationship with Sibiya, describing him as “someone that I knew” rather than a friend. He was reluctant to respond to questions involving Sibiya, saying it would amount to incriminating himself.
Matlala repeatedly invoked his right against self-incrimination when questioned about his alleged links to senior police officials and the controversial SAPS Medicare24 health contract, again arguing that there were pending criminal cases against him.
The commission also questioned him about previous allegations that he had claimed to have several senior police officials on his payroll.
Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo revealed that Matlala had launched an unsuccessful urgent high court application seeking the return of five firearms the Political Killings Task Team seized during a raid on his home.
Khumalo also told the commission of allegations that Sibiya had advised Matlala to fabricate claims that luxury items had been stolen during the raid in an attempt to implicate investigators.
Evidence leaders at the commission have made several attempts to uncover links between Matlala, Sibiya and suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu.