Police are investigating a possible link between the firearm used in the 2023 attempted murder of actress Tebogo Thobejane and a series of high-profile shootings.
According to sources close to the case against controversial Gauteng businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, the weapon may connect Thobejane’s near-fatal attack to the unsolved murder of popular DJ Sumbody as well as the brazen assault on taxi billionaire Joe Sibanyoni.
Ballistic examinations were ongoing, but preliminary results suggest that shell casings recovered from the N1 highway scene where Thobejane narrowly escaped death may match those found at the crime scenes of both DJ Sumbody’s fatal ambush and the 2022 shooting of Sibanyoni outside the Centurion Golf Estate in Centurion.
In court in Alexandra last Friday, when Matlala and his lover Tsakani appeared alongside suspected hitmen Tlego Floyd Mabusela and Musa Kekana in connection with the attempt on Thobejane’s life, the state told the magistrate that they intended to add more charges, mentioning a docket in Pretoria West and another in Lyttleton.
Sunday World understands that the Lyttleton docket refers to the Sibanyoni case.
“However, since the dockets belong to different jurisdictions, the state will have to apply to the national director of prosecutions to authorise a centralisation,” said the source involved in the case, who also confirmed that he had heard of Sibanyoni’s name being mentioned.
A source with knowledge of the developments in the investigation said, “If the ongoing ballistics are confirmed, it points to a single weapon [being used in the attacks].”
Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe declined to comment.
Another source close to the case said Matlala’s personal firearm and those belonging to his company were previously confiscated by the police but have since been returned, adding that it was unlikely that any of the weapons being examined belonged to him.
The informant said the only firearms retrieved from the suspected hitmen were linked to another case in Vereeniging that claimed the life of engineer Armand Swart in April last year.
According to reports on the Vereeniging case, Mabusela, Kekana and then-detective Michael Pule Tau were allegedly paid to eliminate a factory whistleblower who had reported a 4 500% price inflation on Transnet Freight Rail contracts.
Matlala, currently behind bars at Kgosi Mampuru C-Max prison in Pretoria, already faces a litany of charges – attempted murder, conspiracy, money laundering and fraud – after prosecutors revealed damning bank statements and cellphone evidence tying him to the attempt on Thobejane’s life.
Court records show Matlala allegedly sent chilling WhatsApp messages to hired gunmen, instructing them to “shoot her in the face so her family doesn’t recognise her”.
But police insiders now say the implications go far beyond one celebrity shooting. “We’re looking at the same gun used to try to kill Thobejane, which may have ended DJ Sumbody’s life and put Sibanyoni in the hospital.”
This revelation comes as Matlala’s links to tender irregularities and alleged connections to senior politicians– including suspended Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu and ex-minister Bheki Cele – are being scrutinised.
Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, the KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner, publicly stated that Matlala is tied to a “syndicate involving senior politicians”.
Mkhwanazi also hinted that the killings included that of well-known artists, whose names he did not mention, only saying that the incidents were a matter of public record.
The saga began in October 2023 with the botched hit on Thobejane, who sustained a foot injury, while her passenger was left with a severe spinal injury. The gunmen escaped, but forensic teams collected vital ballistic evidence at the scene.
Months earlier, DJ Sumbody (real name Oupa Sefoka) was shot dead in a hail of bullets in Woodmead, Johannesburg – a case that, until now, had gone cold. In another chilling parallel, Sibanyoni, known for his vast taxi empire and rumoured underworld connections, was gunned down in what police described as a “targeted attack” eerily similar to the Thobejane shooting.
Meanwhile, a prison raid this month uncovered a cellphone in Matlala’s cell, raising concerns about ongoing communication between suspects and potential accomplices still at large.
Matlala’s wife, Tsakani, is out on R20 000 bail, while his co-accused, Kekana and Mabusela, remain in custody.
The case is set to move to the Johannesburg High Court in August.
