Developing story: the claims below are Vusimuzi Matlala's own testimony and have not been tested or confirmed. Bheki Cele has not been found to have done anything wrong.

Businessman Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala told the Madlanga Commission on Wednesday that former police minister Bheki Cele repeatedly asked him for money, including cash, money for vehicle repairs and a retirement home. Matlala said he did pay Cele cash, but he disputed the size of the amounts recorded in an earlier statement he gave to investigators.

Cele has previously denied receiving money from Matlala. We could not find a response from him to Wednesday's testimony at the time of writing.

What Matlala says he paid

According to reports of his testimony, Matlala told the commission that:

  • He first met Cele on 23 December 2024, in a meeting arranged by an associate, after police seized his firearms. He said Cele helped resolve the firearms problem and then expected appreciation.
  • He withdrew R500,000 on 9 January and R200,000 the next day, a total of R700,000, and delivered it in a shopping bag to a penthouse in Menlyn Maine, Pretoria, where he says Cele was staying.
  • He handed over a further R300,000 in cash at a hotel in Durban in March 2025, which he described as the balance of an agreed R1 million.
  • Cele later asked for about R300,000 for vehicle repairs and for a R6 million retirement home in Trafalgar, KwaZulu-Natal. Matlala said he never paid either.

Matlala described Cele as someone who expected payment for his help. "He was operating like a jukebox," he said. "You have to pay for something to happen."

The context is the R360 million police health contract awarded to Matlala's company, Medicare24 Tshwane District. Matlala told the commission he was arrested on 14 May 2025.

His claims about the investigators

Matlala also told the commission that investigators from the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) wanted to charge Cele with corruption, and that Cele was among the people who were to be arrested after Matlala accepted a plea deal. He said investigators exaggerated the amount he had given Cele and told him to help establish a history of payments. IDAC's response was not available at the time of writing.

Matlala said that plan collapsed when the plea agreement fell through in July.

What Cele has said

Cele told Parliament's ad hoc committee in October 2025 that he never received cash from Matlala. In October 2026, responding to questions about a police forensic report, he repeated that he had received no money and challenged those alleging otherwise to produce bank records.

What we do not yet know

  • Cele's response to Wednesday's testimony.
  • Whether any of the alleged payments can be corroborated. Matlala has changed parts of his account before, including his evidence earlier this week on payments to another senior police officer.
  • The exact amounts. Reports of the testimony differ: some cite R500,000 as the sum Cele received, others R700,000, and they also differ on whether Matlala accepts that Cele asked for R1 million.
  • How the plea agreement ended. Reports differ on whether a court rejected it or Matlala withdrew.