Madlanga commission allows use of Matlala’s collapsed plea deal

The Madlanga inquiry commission, which is investigating public procurement contracts awarded under the previous administration in South Africa, authorised its evidence leader on Monday to question Vusimusi ‘Cat’ Matlala about the contents of his collapsed plea agreement, the Sowetan daily reports. The commission's chair, Judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga, rejected the defence objection, finding that the invalidity of the statements in question did not apply outside criminal proceedings.

Matlala's lawyer, Annelene van den Heever, had tried to block questions about the agreement, arguing that officials from the Investigating Directorate against Corruption (Idac) had approached her client to negotiate and assured him that the document would not be used by anyone else. She also challenged the way the commission obtained a copy of the agreement. After the decision, she announced her intention to urgently seek a review.

Judge Madlanga said the commission would continue hearing Matlala until his team obtained a court order; if it did, proceedings would be suspended and the testimony excluded pending the outcome of the review. The agreement concerns fraud and money-laundering charges linked to a police tender in the Tshwane region won by his company Medicare 24. Matlala withdrew from it in July after refusing the 12-year prison sentence proposed by the court instead of the eight years agreed with the state, which rendered it void.

The decision comes after the postponement of Vusimuzi Matlala's testimony before the Madlanga commission and his compulsory appearance, announced earlier on Monday, in a case in which he has already accused his lawyer of dictating his testimony.