The downfall of Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, the high-flying Pretoria tender tycoon and director of Cat Protection & Security (CPS), was not the result of a single slip-up, but rather a masterclass in modern digital forensics and meticulous surveillance by the Gauteng Provincial Organised Crime Unit. What began as a brazen daylight shooting in the leafy suburb of Bryanston has unraveled into a sprawling criminal case involving 25 charges, multiple attempted murders, and a chilling "pay-for-play" financial trail.
The saga ignited on 17 October 2023, when a silver-grey VW Caddy pulled alongside a BMW belonging to well-known actress Tebogo Thobejane. Gunmen opened fire on the vehicle, wounding a passenger. While the shooters raced off into the Johannesburg traffic, they unwittingly left behind a digital breadcrumb trail that investigators would eventually use to bridge the gap between the street-level hitmen and the man they allege is the mastermind: Matlala, Thobejane’s former lover.
While the evidence is still to be ventilated in court, investigators have pieced together a timeline that suggests a carefully coordinated assassination attempt. The first major breakthrough came from CCTV footage at the Morningside Shopping Centre, where Thobejane had been earlier that day.
In an affidavit, Sgt Ernest Sithole of the Gauteng Organised Crime Unit revealed that the footage showed a VW Caddy, bearing registration HV24DXGP, which had been parked at the centre for several hours. Though the plates were later discovered to be cloned, the cameras captured two men exiting the van and entering the mall. It was a mundane errand inside the shopping centre that provided the first names for the investigation.
“The men are seen buying Vodacom airtime from Woolworths with voucher number 21646775771 Musa Kekana was identified as the African male buying at Woolworths,” Sithole stated in his affidavit.
The second man was identified as Tiego Floyd Mabusela, known in the criminal underworld as “Danny.” Through subpoenas of Telkom records, investigators placed Mabusela’s cell phone at the crime scene in Bryanston at the time of the shooting, as well as in Rivonia, where Thobejane had lunch, and the Morningside Shopping Centre. The Caddy had shadowed the actress’s BMW from the moment she left the mall.
The investigation gained significant momentum following the arrest of Musa Kekana in April 2024 for an unrelated hijacking. A digital forensic analyst downloaded the contents of his phone, uncovering a "mountain of incriminating" WhatsApp messages and voice notes between him and Mabusela. These messages provided a step-by-step timeline of the conspiracy.
On 16 October, the day before the shooting, Mabusela sent a message asking, “So taba ya the Grand?” to which Kekana replied, “We going will follow her [Thobejane] out and work.” Later that day, Mabusela expressed his nerves regarding the mission, writing, “Wish taba ya Thobejane e spanege iesh,” indicating his desire for the “work” to succeed.
The surveillance continued into the morning of the hit. The pair discussed their arrival times at the restaurant to monitor who Thobejane was with and what car she was using. At 1:43 PM, Kekana sent Mabusela a pin-drop location of “The Grand.” By late afternoon, the agreement was reached to execute the attack under the cover of darkness.
However, the most critical link to Matlala was a voice note sent by Mabusela to Kekana on 12 October, five days before the bullets flew. In the message, Mabusela suggested calling “Cat” to ask for work so they could make money.
Police matched the name “Cat” to Matlala, who also serves as a director of Medicare 24, through witness statements and profiling. A subsequent subpoena of financial records revealed a financial sequence that mirrored the WhatsApp conversations with startling precision.
On 12 October—the same day as the “call Cat” voice note—CPS transferred R20,000 into an account belonging to Mabusela’s daughter. The payout for the "work" followed swiftly. On 18 October, the day after the shooting, Matlala’s company transferred an additional R100,000 to the same account. Both payments used the reference “Medicare 24.”
The motive for the hit, according to Thobejane, was rooted in their past romantic relationship. She told police she possessed incriminating information against Matlala, making her a liability he allegedly wanted eliminated.
The case against Matlala has since expanded far beyond the Thobejane shooting. He, along with his wife Tsakane, Kekana, Mabusela, and Zandile Nthabiseng Nzama, now face a total of 25 charges. These include 11 counts of attempted murder arising from three separate shooting incidents between August 2022 and January 2024, as well as charges of money laundering and fraud.
Mabusela and Kekana are also accused of the attempted murders of taxi boss “Joe Ferrari” Sibanyoni and the popular DJ Vettys. Investigators believe these incidents are part of a broader pattern of violence orchestrated by the group.
The "Cat" is currently facing the full might of the law as the Gauteng Organised Crime Unit continues to dig into his business dealings and alleged ties to the criminal underworld. With a trial looming, the meticulous digital trail—from airtime vouchers to WhatsApp voice notes—stands as the cornerstone of the state’s case against the man who once thought he was untouchable.
