The attempted murder case of alleged drug cartel member Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala has been postponed to November to allow for the state to centralise two additional dockets from Pretoria and to facilitate the process to transfer the case to the Johannesburg High Court.
This was revealed on Tuesday at the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court when the controversial businessman Matlala (49), his wife Tsakani (36), two alleged hitmen Musa Kekana (35) and Tiego Floyd Mabusela (47), and Nthabiseng Nzama (23) appeared at the court in connection with the October 2023 attempted murder of Matlala’s ex-lover Tebogo Thobejane, a famous television actress and influencer.
Nzama is the daughter of Mabusela.
The five accused are facing various charges including but not limited to attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, fraud, money laundering and defeating the ends of justice in connection with the alleged hit on Thobejane.
Nzama faces a charge of money laundering. The state alleges that Nzama facilitated fund transfers between accounts, fully aware that the money originated from criminal activity.
Centralisation of dockets
During court proceedings on Tuesday, the state requested the matter to be postponed to allow for the centralisation of two dockets received from Pretoria in which the accused are implicated.
Magistrate Renier Boshoff postponed the matter to November 11 for the centralisation of two additional dockets received from Pretoria and to facilitate the transfer of the case to the Johannesburg High Court.
Tsakani and Nzama are out on R20 000 and R10 000 bail, respectively.
Kekana, Mabusela and Matlala remain in police custody. Kekana and Mabusela abandoned their bail applications, while Matlala was denied bail last month in September.
The three counts of attempted murder are in connection with the injuries sustained by Thobejane, and her friends Anele Malinga and Khumbulani Ncube from the alleged hit.
Conspiring to kill Thobejane
The state alleges that the accused committed the various crimes between October 12 2023 and October 17 2023. During the period they allegedly conspired to kill Thobejane. The state further alleges that they opened fire on Thobejane and her two friends.
“It is alleged that the accused laundered over R120 000 linked to the murder plot and submitted a fraudulent invoice in an attempt to conceal the origin of the funds and mislead the court,” said National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane.
On the night of October 17 2023, the black BMW vehicle that Thobejane, Malinga and Ncube were travelling in was sprayed with a hail of bullets at the corner of Bryanston and Wilton Drive in Bryanston, Sandton, Johannesburg. The shooting occurred between 10pm and 10:30pm.
Thobejane was shot in the foot, while Malinga was wounded and shot in the spinal cord. Malinga has been left paralysed.
Out of fear for her life, Thobejane fled the country after the shooting incident. She is currently residing at an undisclosed location abroad.
Thobejane has accused Matlala of orchestrating the alleged hit on her life. Matlala has denied any involvement in the shooting at Thobejane.
