Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala has told the Madlanga Commission how businessman Hangwani Morgan Maumela allegedly channelled a R5-million loan to him through another businessman (Suliman Carrim). This as he was questioned about repeatedly sharing payment records and screenshots with Maumela.
Matlala testified that he initially believed the R15-million he had borrowed from Carrim had come entirely from him, only to discover later that R5-million of the money had originated from Maumela.
The revelation emerged during questioning about Matlala’s business dealings with Maumela, including their relationship involving government medical-supply contracts and Matlala’s residence at Zimbali Estate on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast.
Asked whether Maumela had a financial interest in a subcontract involving the SAPS, Matlala denied that he did.
However, Advocate Mahlape Sello questioned why Matlala had repeatedly shared screenshots of computer screens and payment-related communications with Maumela.
The R5-million loan arrangement
According to Matlala, he initially understood the entire R15-million to have been borrowed from Carrim. He said Maumela later confronted him and explained that he had deliberately concealed his involvement in the loan.
“Mr. Maumela is my friend, he borrowed Mr. Carrim five million rands. And Mr. Carrim borrowed me 15 million rands,” he explained the arrangement.
He said Carrim had not disclosed that R5-million of the money he received originated from Maumela.
“So, Mr. Carrim, did not tell me that the other R5 million was from Mr. Maumela,” Matlala testified.
READ: Cat Matlala pressured me – Suliman Carrim grilled on millions sent to Hangwani Maumela
Matlala’s account was that Maumela did not want to lend him the money directly because he believed Matlala would not repay him since they are friends.
He explained that Maumela had therefore used Carrim as an intermediary, making it appear as though the money had come entirely from Carrim.
The arrangement also explained why Matlala had been sharing screenshots showing payments made to Carrim.
He said he wanted Maumela to have proof that he was paying Carrim, so that Carrim could not deny receiving the money or claim that Matlala had failed to settle his account.
Matlala said the screenshots were intended to help Maumela recover the money he had advanced to Carrim.
“It was really to assist him to recover his five million from Mr. Carrim,” he told the commission.
Evidence leader advocate Mahlape Sello asked whether Carrim had eventually repaid Maumela the full R5-million, Matlala said he was unsure.
Maumela facilitated access to Zimbali home
Matlala also faced questions about a house in Zimbali where he had hosted former police minister Bheki Cele before his arrest in May 2025.
Evidence leader Sello referred him to a WhatsApp exchange dated March 18, 2025, in which Matlala sent an access code for the property to Cele, followed by a message saying, “I’m sending location leading to the house now.”
Matlala said the house in Zimbali is his.
READ MORE: Morgan Maumela’s Ferrari sells for R10 million
But Sello challenged him, pointing out that the property was not registered in his name.
“I know why you’re saying that, because it’s not in my name. It is under Morgan Maumela but I bought it from him maybe in 2022 or 2023.”
He conceded that it had still not been transferred into his name by March 2025.
Matlala explained that he had initially avoided registering the property in his own name because he was going through a divorce. After the divorce was finalised, he said, he intended to transfer it, but later considered registering it in the name of a trust he had established. He acknowledged that the transfer to the trust had also not taken place.
Tembisa Hospital business dealings
Matlala was also questioned about documents relating to Tembisa Hospital that Maumela had forwarded to him.
The documents, which appeared in the commission’s evidence bundle, contained descriptions of goods and substantial monetary values. Matlala acknowledged that the listed items were consumables of the kind he had previously supplied.
However, he said he could not remember why Maumela had sent him the documents.
Sello sought clarity on how their business arrangement had worked, asking whether Maumela would send him lists of goods required by the hospital, which Matlala would then procure and supply.
Matlala explained that the requests for quotations came from the department, not Maumela.
He also told the commission that he had stopped supplying Tembisa Hospital several years earlier.
During earlier testimony, Matlala had described a business arrangement in which he and Maumela contributed money towards government supply opportunities and shared profits generated through their respective deals.
He previously testified that they had each contributed approximately R1-million to a shared supplier account and that the arrangement generated about R5-million over five years.
ALSO READ: Matlala gives a glimpse into his relationship with Maumela, how they shared profits
Why Matlala is before the Madlanga Commission
Matlala’s testimony forms part of the commission’s wider investigation into allegations of criminal syndicate infiltration, corruption and political interference in South Africa’s criminal justice system.
The commission was established by President Cyril Ramaphosa following explosive allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi on 6 July 2025.
Mkhwanazi alleged that criminal syndicates had infiltrated law enforcement structures and accused senior political and police figures of interfering with investigations.
Matlala became a central figure in the controversy following his arrest in May 2025 and the subsequent scrutiny of his business interests, particularly his company Medicare24 Tshwane.
The company had been awarded a controversial R360-million SAPS healthcare services contract, which became a major focus of allegations surrounding Matlala’s connections to senior police officials.
- Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala has told the Madlanga Commission how businessman Hangwani Morgan Maumela allegedly channelled a R5-million loan to him through another businessman (Suliman Carrim).
- This as he was questioned about repeatedly sharing payment records and screenshots with Maumela.
- Matlala testified that he initially believed the R15-million he had borrowed from Carrim had come entirely from him, only to discover later that R5-million of the money had originated from Maumela.
- The revelation emerged during questioning about Matlala’s business dealings with Maumela, including their relationship involving government medical-supply contracts and Matlala’s residence at Zimbali Estate on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast.
- Asked whether Maumela had a financial interest in a subcontract involving the SAPS, Matlala denied that he did.
