Alleged kingpin Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala told the Madlanga Commission that former deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya coerced him to lie about their relationship in his testimony to the ad hoc committee.
He said Sibiya had relayed his messages through his former attorney, a Mr Forbay.
“The evidence that I gave before the ad hoc committee in relation to Lt General Shadrack Sibiya of the SAPS was a result of me being coerced by Forbay. Forbay informed me not to reveal the whole truth about Sibiya and my knowing him. Forbay, on more than one occasion, informed me that if I were to testify about everything about Sibiya, Sibiya may threaten to kill my family,” Matlala said.
He said Forbay would call Sibiya during breaks at the ad hoc committee and hand Matlala the phone. He said Sibiya would instruct him how to answer parliamentary questions which he had had known beforehand.
“Sibiya would tell him what I am going to be asked and Forbay, through Sibiya, would direct me how to answer those questions. I then realised that Sibiya was in contact with a member or members of the ad hoc committee,” Matlala said.
Sibiya recently resigned from the SAPS at the start of his disciplinary hearing. He is being held at the Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Facility awaiting trial on sex-related charges.
Matlala said Sibiya had forced him to use Forbay as his lawyer. He said he had not had to pay Forbay himself.
Under intense scrutiny, Matlala later retracted this part of his testimony, saying he had, in fact, paid Forbay R50 000.
Matlala also alleged that Forbay had intentionally lost one of his phones, an iPhone 16 Pro Max, after the SAPS had returned the device. He said his other phone, an iPhone 16, had been left in a briefcase, which had been stolen.
“I suspect that Forbay is intentionally hiding this cellular phone and now alleges it was stolen, whilst the iPhone 16 was also in his briefcase. Why only the iPhone 16 ProMaxx was stolen makes no sense,” Matlala said.
He said Sibiya had regularly asked him to delete phone calls and chats between them after each conversation and to protect him as a police general.
“I deleted all my communications with Siboya every time we held telephone conversations after he advised me to do so. He said to me that I need to protect him at all costs and he did not want anybody to know that I was in communication with him.”
Matlala said Sergeant Fannie Nkosi had introduced him to Sibiya. He said he had met Nkosi, known as 007, at the farm of the late taxi boss Jotham ‘King Swazi’ Msibi.