DCS still mum over transfer of Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala

The Correctional Services Department remains mum over what triggered the transfer of attempted murder accused businessman Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala to the country’s most secure prison.

On Tuesday the department announced Matlala had been moved from the C-max Kgosi Mampuru prison in Pretoria to the eBongweni Correctional Centre in Kokstad, KwaZulu-Natal.

eBongweni is South Africa’s only super maximum-security prison and houses some of the country’s highest-risk inmates.

Officially opened in 2002, the prison has housed some of the country’s most famous prison escapees, including Ananias Mathe, Sibusiso Mzimela and even Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir, who was moved there after his prison escape plan was foiled by police.

It also holds some of the country’s most notorious serial killers, including the sugarcane killer Thozamile Taki, who’s currently serving out his 13 life sentences at the prison.

In 2021 a report by the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services described conditions at the prison as torture, with inmates beingkept for 23 hours in solitary confinement.

While Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala has been accused of being a kingpin to a criminal cartel that controls the highest levels of government, he hasn’t been found guilty.

Matlala’s publicly known prison offence is that he was found with a cell phone in his cell at Kgosi Mampuru prison in July this year.

Correctional Services Department spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo says the transfer of detainees from one prison to another is regular standard procedure.

“It has to be stated as well that the transfer of an inmate does not prejudice their legal rights or access to services.”

Matlala is due to appear in the Johannesburg High Court on January 29th, 2026, for the start of his criminal trial, where he is facing 11 charges, including attempted murder, among others.

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