A series of WhatsApp message exchanges between Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s comrade, Brown Mogotsi, and alleged drug cartel member Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala dominated the testimony of national crime intelligence boss Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo at the Madlanga commission on Tuesday.
Khumalo, the South African Police Services (SAPS) divisional commissioner for crime intelligence and project leader of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) SAPS political killings task team, unpacked WhatsApp chats between Mogotsi and Matlala.
The text messages between Matlala and Mogotsi, dating from December 19 2024 to May 15 2025, were beamed on a screen for all to see at the commission of inquiry.
Khumalo was giving testimony during the public hearings of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into criminality, political interference and corruption in the criminal justice system.
The commission’s public hearings which are taking place at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria, are chaired by retired Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga.
During his testimony, Khumalo told evidence leader Adv Adila Hassim SC that police obtained the records of the WhatsApp chats on Matlala’s two cellphones after legally seizing the communication devices during a search and seizure operation at his house last December.
Text messages
Khumalo analysed the WhatsApp chats for the commission.
He said Mogotsi sent Matlala a screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation between Mogotsi and a number saved as “Senzo Mchunu”.
The screenshot was sent sometime last December.
In the screenshot, Mchunu sends Mogotsi a message saying, “please update”.
Mogotsi responds by saying, “it was during your tenure”.
On December 23, Mogotsi sent Mchunu a message that reads: “We got a breakthrough”.
Mchunu responded on December 24 by saying, “was the arrest effected”.
It was not clear whose arrest Mchunu was asking about.
Khumalo spoke about a December 27 message that Matlala sent to Mogotsi, wherein Matlala said someone at the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) wants “the case to have assault so that he can effect an arrest…”
Khumalo said Matlala’s message to Mogotsi suggests that Matlala has a person at IPID that he is working with, and they were discussing how to get PKTT members arrested after they conducted an operation at Matlala’s house.
Big Five
On Monday, Khumalo said there is a “Big Five” drug cartel in South Africa that operates nationally and internationally. He said the Big Five drug cartel, which consists of five individuals, has its head office in Gauteng.
Khumalo said attempted murder-accused Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and DJ Sumbody murder-accused Katiso “KT” Molefe are members of the drug cartel.
He said the other three members of the Big Five drug cartel are still being “addressed” by crime intelligence and he will only mention their names when he testifies in camera at the commission.
Khumalo said the drug cartel has penetrated the political sphere and has captured key elements in the criminal justice system to sustain its operations.
Khumalo also alleged that KZN Hawks head Maj-Gen Lesetja Senona “leaked” confidential SAPS information to Matlala via WhatsApp.
The commission was established by President Cyril Ramaphosa on July 13 after KZN police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s explosive media briefing on July 6 where he said politicians in parliament, police officers, metro police officers, correctional service officials, prosecutors and members of the judiciary in Gauteng are part of a criminal syndicate in Gauteng, and they are controlled by drug cartels and business people in Gauteng.
The commission continues.
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