31/10/2025
Bombshell Testimony at Madlanga Commission: Matlala Allegedly Paid R150k for Hit on Ex, R300k for Sibiya’s Son’s Wedding.
Pretoria - Controversial businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala paid R150,000 to hitmen to assassinate his ex-girlfriend, actress and socialite Tebogo Thobejane, and separately sponsored R300,000 for the wedding of Lieutenant General Mthandazo Sibiya’s son, a state witness told the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Thursday, 30 October 2025.
Witness C, a forensic investigator with the KwaZulu-Natal Political Killings Task Team, testified under oath that Matlala made the admissions during recorded conversations while in custody in May 2023, following his arrest for the attempted hit on Thobejane.
The witness quoted Matlala directly on the wedding payment:
“General Sibiya o rata chelete dai man.”
(“General Sibiya really loves money, that guy.”)
This remark, Witness C said, was Matlala’s explanation for funding the lavish wedding, allegedly to secure favor or protection from Lt Gen Mthandazo Sibiya, then head of Crime Intelligence in KwaZulu-Natal.
The R150,000 hit was linked to a failed assassination attempt on Thobejane, who survived after being targeted in Johannesburg. Matlala was arrested alongside two alleged gunmen.
The testimony forms part of broader allegations of corruption, bribery, and abuse of power within South Africa’s criminal justice system, with Matlala accused of using cash to influence police officials.