Allegations of phone calls and messages between former Minister of Police, retired General Bheki Cele and murder accused Mr Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, as well as claims of free accommodation and a retraction of evidence regarding alleged payments, featured prominently before the Ad Hoc Committee to Investigate Allegations made by SAPS KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
During his appearance before the committee, Gen Cele firmly denied any friendship with Mr Matlala, saying: “I do not have a friend called Cat.” He told the committee that he initially thought Mr Matlala was a “cool guy” until he began hearing more about his alleged criminal dealings, which led him to question how he had “managed to remain under the radar”.
Mr Cele confirmed that he did stay “for free” at Mr Matlala’s luxury penthouse, saying that he is a pensioner now and not involved in government and therefore, does not have to declare this. He denied sending text or WhatsApp messages to Mr Matlala.
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The committee heard that Gen Cele met Mr Matlala in December 2024 at Durban’s Beverly Hills Hotel, where he was introduced to him by Mr Bongani “Mabonga” Mpungose, the son of a taxi industry figure. According to Gen Cele’s testimony, Mr Matlala claimed that the now-suspended Deputy National Commissioner of Crime Detection, Lt Gen Shadrack Sibiya, had asked him to write an affidavit against Lt Gen Dumisani Khumalo, then head of Crime Intelligence. Gen Cele said he chose to engage with Mr Matlala further on the matter, in an attempt to obtain information that could help protect Lt Gen Khumalo, whom he described as a “good cop”.
Gen Cele also said he was aware of some of the allegations made by Lt Gen Mkhwanazi during a July 2025 press conference. He told the committee that he was surprised by certain aspects of that briefing, particularly the reference to Lt Gen Sibiya as a “criminal”. He added that while those remarks were unexpected, he believed they warranted proper investigation to establish the facts.
He further confirmed having seen Minister Senzo Mchunu’s letter disbanding the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) and expressed shock at its contents. Gen Cele, who established the PKTT in 2018 in response to rising political killings in KwaZulu-Natal, defended the team’s continued relevance and effectiveness, arguing that it was performing vital work. He disagreed with Minister Mchunu’s reasoning that the disbandment was necessary for efficiency purposes, saying the task team remained a valuable structure, despite associated costs.
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Mr Cele further told the committee that the SAPS was spending over R1 million to train a task force member only to lose 56 such members to private security companies providing support to the taxi industry.
At the conclusion of Gen Cele’s testimony, the committee was informed that Lt Gen Mkhwanazi had sent a text message to evidence leaders retracting part of his earlier evidence. In that portion, Lt Gen Mkhwanazi had alleged that Gen Cele received money from Mr Matlala through a third-party account. Evidence leader Advocate Norman Arendse told the committee that following the text, Lt Gen Mkhwanazi confirmed in conversation that the allegation was withdrawn. He explained that the investigative team had made an error in the bank account number and that the reference did not relate to Gen Cele. “The allegation is withdrawn, with due apologies from Lt Gen Mkhwanazi for any inconvenience or hurt caused,” Adv Arendse said.
However, committee members were not satisfied that a text message or phone call was sufficient to close the matter. Some of them proposed that Lt Gen Mkhwanazi should appear before the committee to formally retract the allegation and issue a public apology.
Committee Chairperson Mr Molapi Soviet Lekganyane cautioned members not to question Gen Cele on the withdrawn matter and said that Lt Gen Mkhwanazi would need to amend his sworn statement. “The committee will decide whether to invite him to return so that, where a public apology is necessary, it can be made formally. It would be appropriate for such an apology to be presented in the same forum where the statement was made, allowing members to seek clarity and ensuring the apology is properly recorded and conveyed to Gen Cele and the South African public,” he said.
