NPA backs prison transfer of alleged crime kingpin Cat Matlala despite defence concerns

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says it is satisfied with assurances from the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) that alleged crime kingpin Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala will be able to attend court proceedings and consult with his legal team, despite being held at a super-maximum security facility in KwaZulu-Natal.

NPA Gauteng spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said the prosecution would not interfere in decisions made by correctional services, as long as Matlala’s constitutional rights were respected.

“As the NPA, we cannot go into the purview of correctional services and comment on issues of detainees,” Mjonondwane said on Thursday after Matlala’s first pre-trial appearance in the Johannesburg High Court. 

“Our role is to ensure that he is subjected to a fair trial and that he attends court.”

She said DCS had undertaken, in a statement released in December, that detainees would attend court without hindrance and that legal processes would continue as required.

“So we are satisfied with the word from correctional services that Mr Matlala will be able to attend court proceedings and that consultations between him and his legal representatives will proceed accordingly,” she said.

Mjonondwane added that the NPA would wait for any formal application from the defence, noting that the court had given the parties time to engage with DCS. She said the prosecution had little information beyond DCS’s explanation that Matlala’s transfer was based on security concerns.

“We don’t have much to give to the court. All we know is what correctional services stated — that there were security concerns,” she said.

Concerns about Matlala’s detention were raised earlier on Thursday during his appearance alongside four co-accused, including his wife, Tsakani Matlala.

Matlala’s lawyer, Anneline van den Heever, told the court that accessing her client at the eBongweni Correctional Centre in Kokstad had become “a nightmare”, severely hampering trial preparation.

She said the facility, described by DCS as the country’s only super-maximum prison, confines inmates to their cells for 23 hours a day, allowing only one hour of exercise.

Van den Heever said consulting her client required flying to Durban, hiring a car and travelling more than three hours to the prison, followed by lengthy delays before access was granted.

“When you eventually consult, he sits behind thick glass where you can barely hear each other, with people around listening,” she said, alleging that consultations were monitored or recorded.

“As a result, access to your client for trial or pre-trial preparation is reduced to an hour, maybe two.”

She told the court that several consultation attempts were blocked by DCS officials, who initially claimed Matlala had different legal representatives. Even after her status was confirmed, a scheduled consultation was cancelled after the area commissioner allegedly barred all visits.

Van den Heever said attempts to reach senior DCS officials, including National Commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale and Minister Pieter Groenewald, had been unsuccessful.

She argued that the restrictions threatened Matlala’s right to a fair trial and said the defence would seek a preferential trial date once pre-trial issues were resolved.

Senior state prosecutor Elize Le Roux said the decision to transfer Matlala was taken solely by DCS and not the prosecution.

“The State had no involvement in, nor control over, his placement,” she said.

Matlala, 49, faces 11 counts of attempted murder. The State alleges he orchestrated a hit on his former girlfriend, actress and socialite Tebogo Thobejane, and was involved in other attempted murders targeting high-profile figures.

He will stand trial alongside Musa Kekana, Tiego Floyd Mabusela, Tsakani Matlala and Mabusela’s daughter, Nthabiseng Nzama.

The charges stem primarily from the 2023 shooting of Thobejane on the N1 highway near Sandton. She was shot in the foot, while a female passenger travelling with her sustained a severe spinal injury and was left paralysed.

Nzama faces a charge of money laundering, with the State alleging she facilitated the transfer of funds she knew were derived from criminal activity.

The State has consolidated three cases against Matlala, including the attempted murder of taxi owner Joe Sibanyoni in 2022, the shooting of Thobejane in 2023 and a botched hit on DJ Seunkie Mokubung, also known as DJ Vettys, in 2024.

The matter has also been expanded to include two Pretoria dockets linked to the 2022 shooting of Sibanyoni outside Centurion Golf Estate and the 2024 shooting of Mokubung in Pretoria West.

Matlala was transferred to the eBongweni Correctional Centre in December 2025 as part of heightened security measures for high-risk inmates. Authorities have declined to provide further details but confirmed the facility is equipped to house dangerous and high-profile prisoners.

Judge William Karam postponed the matter to February 6 to allow counsel to consult on efforts to have Matlala transferred to a correctional facility in Gauteng, closer to the court’s jurisdiction.

Tsakani Matlala and Nzama remain out on bail of R20,000 and R10,000 respectively, with their bail conditions extended. 

Kekana, Mabusela and Matlala remain in custody.

Kekana and Mabusela previously abandoned their bail applications, while Matlala was denied bail in October 2025.

simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za

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