Johannesburg – Controversial businessman Vusimusi "Cat" Matlala, labelled an alleged criminal kingpin, appeared in the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Friday alongside his four co-accused, including his wife Tsakane Matlala. Matlala plans to apply to court for a transfer from the eBongweni Super Maximum Correctional Centre in Kokstad, KwaZulu-Natal, arguing that the Department of Correctional Services is hampering communication with his lawyer and thus violating his constitutional right to a fair trial.
His advocate, Annelene van den Heever, told Judge William Karam that the tenderpreneur’s current arrangement made effective consultation virtually impossible. She detailed the efforts made to secure her client’s transfer, revealing that her attorney had hand-delivered a three-page letter to the national commissioner of correctional services on 15 January, followed by another letter on 3 February with no response.
Matlala was relocated in the dead of night from Kgosi Mampuru Prison in Tshwane to eBongweni in December after testifying before the ad hoc parliamentary committee about allegations that criminal syndicates and corrupt business figures had penetrated senior levels of the justice system and state institutions.
Van den Heever warned the court that the department remained unmoved, citing a risk assessment that necessitated the move. The department’s eventual response, not to the defence but to the prosecution, doubled down on its position regarding prisoner placement.
Prosecutor advocate Elize le Roux said: "The Department of Correctional Services indicated that they still rely on their independent mandate to transfer prisoners wherever they want to."
According to Le Roux, officials indicated that while access to legal representation by detainees was a recognised right, this was “subject to other legislation” – a reference that formed the crux of their justification for keeping Matlala at the KwaZulu-Natal facility. When she attempted to access the risk assessment that apparently informed the decision to transfer Matlala to Kokstad, they were told it was confidential.
Karam acknowledged the defence’s frustrations but made it clear the court would not be drawn into what could become an opposed application about the location of Matlala’s incarceration.
Alongside the transfer application, Matlala also intends to launch another bail application after his previous efforts were denied by the same court in October last year, citing that he was a flight risk and a danger to society. He faces a count of attempted murder for an attempt on the life of his ex-girlfriend, Tebogo Thobejane, and multiple murder charges for the killings of taxi boss Joe Sibanyoni and Seunkie “DJ Vettys” Mokubung.
Technical difficulties with disclosure materials further complicated the matter. Van den Heever complained that the defence had been handed a 1TB hard drive on Monday that could not be opened without specialised software, hampering consultation and disclosure and creating a cascading effect on Matlala’s legal options.
She told the court her client’s restricted access was not only delaying trial preparation but also preventing him from pursuing a bail application based on new facts. Van den Heever said finalising the necessary affidavits for both the urgent transfer application and any future bail bid required proper consultation time; something the current detention arrangement made virtually impossible.
In a partial concession, Le Roux acknowledged that correctional services were “not unreasonable” in granting access, noting that Matlala’s attorney had been permitted to consult with him at Kgosi Mampuru for several hours previously.
While Matlala’s detention woes dominated proceedings, the court heard that his co-accused faced different circumstances in their case preparation. His wife and co-accused, Tsakani Matlala, along with other co-accused Nthabiseng Nzama, remain out on bail. The remaining accused – alleged hitmen Tiego Floyd Mabusela and Musa Kekana – will remain in custody.
Karam indicated that the court was willing to conduct pre-trial proceedings on a piecemeal basis, allowing those accused whose legal teams were ready to proceed to do so separately from those still grappling with disclosure and consultation issues.
The case was postponed to 12 February.
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