Tenderpreneur with alleged links to underworld key figure in Mkhwanazi's explosive allegations
In an unprecedented move, Mkhwanazi held a press briefing in Durban on Sunday where he made several damning allegations against high-ranking police officials and Police Minister Senzo Mchunu.
JOHANNESBURG - A tenderpreneur with alleged links to the underworld and political backing is a key figure in the explosive allegations set out by KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Provincial Commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
In an unprecedented move, Mkhwanazi held a press briefing in Durban on Sunday where he made several damning allegations against high-ranking police officials and police minister Senzo Mchunu.
Mkhwanazi alleges that Vusumuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala – a man who scored an almost R400 million police tender is at the centre of a syndicate in Gauteng which has captured organised crime officials.
News24 investigative journalist, Jeff Wicks, has for the past three years followed the murky trail of the tender tycoon for his alleged involvement in the criminal underworld and how he scored multi-million-rand health and police tenders.
Wicks outlines what his investigations into Matlala uncovered.
“He first appeared on our radar in 2022 when we found that he’d been making money through the Tembisa hospital scandal, first exposed by Babita Deokaran. He had five shell companies that were part of a larger extraction syndicate. Mr Matlala reinvented himself midway through last year and ended up getting a R360 million health services tender from the police. Essentially, the same organisation that’s investigating him for procurement fraud in the Tembisa matter is now paying him to do their health services.”
Matalala was arrested earlier this year in connection with an alleged hit on his socialite ex-girlfriend, Tebogo Thobejane.
He is expected back in court on Friday.
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