Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala stands trial for allegedly bankrolling three assassination attempts, with the State presenting a mix of financial and forensic evidence to support its claims.
Allegations that businessman Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala financed three attempted assassinations through company bank accounts will now be tested in court after his long-awaited trial got under way alongside four co-accused in the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Johannesburg on Monday.
Matlala, his wife Tsakani Matlala, Musa Kekana, Tiego Floyd Mabusela and Zandile Nthabiseng Nzama pleaded not guilty to 25 charges arising from three attempted murders allegedly committed between August 2022 and January 2024.
The charges include conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, unlawful possession of prohibited firearms and ammunition, money laundering, fraud, and defeating or attempting to defeat the administration of justice.
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After hours of dealing with administrative issues and recording the pleas of the accused, the matter was adjourned until Tuesday, when the State is expected to call its first witness.
The State says it will rely on witness testimony, bank records, cellphone data, forensic ballistics and digital evidence to show that Matlala allegedly financed and directed the attacks while distancing himself from those accused of carrying them out.
Judge Cassim Moosa ordered that the trial proceed uninterrupted from 20 July to 7 August 2026, before resuming from 31 August to 18 September after a short adjournment....
