The Chairperson of the Ad Hoc Committee, Soviet Lekganyane, has confirmed that Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala will proceed to testify before the committee on Wednesday, after his lawyers threatened to interdict the parliament’s hearing.
Lekganyane spoke to the media on Tuesday at Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Centre in Pretoria.
Matlala’s lawyers have written a letter to the committee requesting a postponement of his testimony claiming that his health is declining.
Lekganyane announced that Matlala will testify and proceedings will start at 11am and may extend over several days.
“Mr. Matlala is available to meet with us from tomorrow, Thursday, and probably Friday if we are not done by Thursday. So it’s how all systems go,” Lekganyane said.
Matlala is expected to testify this week as part of the committee’s ongoing enquiry into allegations of corruption and political interference.
The controversial business executive is currently facing charges of attempted murder and money laundering.
WHY MATLALA’S LEGAL TEAM REQUESTS TESTIMONY POSTPONEMENT
Matlala’s lawyer, Matlhatsi Abram Madira, explained in the letter that his client needed time to prepare for these proceedings. He highlighted that Matlala has not had sufficient time to prepare his affidavit and needs time to prepare it.
“The shared number of documents and affidavits that were provided made it virtually impossible for Mr Matlala to be ready to adduce evidence, coupled with the dire circumstances of his detention with its own shortcomings and restrictions,” read the letter.
Matlala’s legal team further explained that the detention of Mr Matlala in the C Max Prison has negatively affected his health and mental capacity.
“During our consultation with Mr Matlala yesterday, we could find out that he no longer comprehended some of the issues, and we have noticed that he seemed disorientated,” Madira said in the letter.
The lawyers said that consulting with Matlala has become an absolute nightmare in prison due to poor network coverage.
“We at times experience difficulties with the network coverage in C Max and that the infrastructure in C Max is not conducive to having a productive consultation, as there are no proper facilities and the building itself is not user-friendly to enable us to consult with him for a long time and meet the deadline of tomorrow, .” he said.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM MATLALA’S TESTIMONY
Matlala is expected to testify about a R360 million tender that was awarded to his company, Medicare 24, before it was cancelled in December last year.
He is also expected to address allegations made by business executive, Brown Mogotsi, that he paid bribes ranging from R2 million to R5 million to the KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, and Former Police Minister, Bheki Cele.
Mogotsi is also linked to the allegations of corruption and political interference in the criminal justice system.
