Officer denies witnessing alleged torture of Cat Matlala co-accused in Johannesburg court

A tactical response officer denied seeing the alleged torture of Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala’s co-accused in the Johannesburg High Court on Tuesday, telling defence counsel repeatedly: “I hear you, but I was not present.”

Key denial during trial within a trial

The exchange came during a trial within the main Matlala trial, where Judge Cassim Moosa is deciding whether evidence recovered after the arrest of accused number one, Musa Kekana, may be admitted. Advocate Riaan Gissing, acting for Kekana, put to Colonel Tumelo Tsotetsi that police had beaten, tied up and suffocated Kekana in a house in the Johannesburg suburb of Kew hours after his arrest.

Tsotetsi, a member of the tactical response team and the state’s third witness in the hearing, responded to repeated assertions about events in Kew by saying he was not present. When asked whether he arrived at the house directly after the alleged assault, he said: “I did not go there.”

What Tsotetsi said he observed

Tsotetsi told the court that Kekana returned to the arrest scene in Eighth Road and did not mention being assaulted.

“That was shocking. He did not mention that to me, and even on his face he did not show as a person that was assaulted or tortured by police.”

Tsotetsi also gave evidence about the arrest at Eighth Road, where he said he was present. He agreed the police vehicles that arrived were unmarked and that Kekana and former police officer Michael Pule Tau were cuffed behind their backs and made to lie on their stomachs. He rejected a defence claim that a traffic officer fired two warning shots, saying: “No one fired any warning shots. There was no reason for shots to be fired.”

Rights and identification of exhibits

Tsotetsi said Captain Pimi Alfred Sekgobela explained the suspects’ rights twice, first in Sepedi and then in English, informing them they had the right to remain silent, that anything they said might be recorded and used in court, that they were not obliged to make a confession or an admission, and that they could contact a lawyer or be provided one by the state if they could not afford one.

Under questioning from state advocate Elize le Roux, Tsotetsi identified several items and locations: the Mercedes-Benz Viano found in Eighth Road and its registration, a wheel rim a third man had been holding, the strip of grass where the suspects were made to lie, the property at 34 Fifth Road, the gate leading to the back of that house, the carport where a white Hyundai i20 was found, and the top Kekana wore the day of the arrest.

Other officers and evidence

When shown two defence photographs of a gate remote with a blue casing, Tsotetsi said no one had sent for it. He also said he had instructed that Kekana’s cuffs be moved from behind his back to the front after Kekana said he was unwell and began coughing: “I’m the one who instructed that they should uncuff him from his behind and cuff him from his front.”

Tsotetsi told the court about two officers who left the arrest scene for the house with Sekgobela and Kekana. He said Sergeant Masikwaneng had resigned from the police and that Sergeant Lidwaba was shot by criminals in October 2024 and still has metal pins holding his lower leg together.

“They’re trying to sort his foot out, but for now, it’s not yet successful.”

Background to the main case

The main trial alleges that Matlala ordered three hit plots between August 2022 and January 2024. The state says the alleged targets included taxi boss Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni, Matlala’s former girlfriend actress Tebogo Thobejane, and music producer Seunkie “DJ Vetteys” Mokubung, with bystanders caught in the gunfire. Five accused face a total of 25 charges, including 11 counts of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, fraud, money laundering and firearms offences. All five have pleaded not guilty.

Accused alongside Matlala are Musa Kekana, Tiego Floyd Mabusela, Tsakani Matlala and Nthabiseng Zandile Nzama. Kekana was arrested on 17 April 2024, hours after Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart was shot dead.

Where the hearing goes next

State advocate Elize le Roux closed her questioning of Tsotetsi on Tuesday. The trial within a trial continues as the court considers whether evidence obtained after Kekana’s arrest can be used in the main prosecution.