AK-47 serial number 575363 at centre of Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala’s trial as 25 charges read in court

The trial of Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and four co-accused began at the Johannesburg High Court, where the five defendants pleaded not guilty to 25 charges that include conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, money laundering, fraud and the illegal possession of prohibited firearms and ammunition.

State reads weapon details and charges

State advocate Elize le Roux read an indictment that lists a Russian-model AK-47 assault rifle with serial number 575363 as central to the prosecution’s case. The rifle’s calibre was recorded in court as 7.62x39mm.

Le Roux told the court the weapon and an unknown number of 7.62mm rounds were held without a licence, permit or dealer’s licence. A 9mm pistol is cited in counts linked to a separate alleged plot.

Alleged shootings and targets

The state alleges three shootings between August 2022 and January 2024. The indictment names actress Tebogo Thobejane, taxi boss Joe ‘Ferrari’ Sibanyoni and music producer Seunkie ‘DJ Vetteys’ Mokubung as targets. All three appeared in court.

The AK-47 is alleged to have been used when Sibanyoni was shot at on 10 August 2022 at the Centurion Golf Estate. The same calibre and description of rifle is included in the counts relating to the 17 October 2023 shooting of Thobejane, who was reportedly shot in the foot while a friend, Anele Alicia Malinga, was wounded.

The indictment reflects 11 attempted murder counts, covering the people allegedly fired on across the three attacks; each attempted murder charge was said in court to carry a minimum sentence of life imprisonment on conviction.

Money transfers and money-laundering counts

The state alleged payments were made through business accounts to fund the violence. On one count Le Roux told the court that R20,000, described as a portion of the compensation to kill Thobejane, was transferred from Matlala’s business account into the business account of accused five, Nthabiseng Zandile Nzama, and that R15,000 of that amount was further transferred into the business account of accused two, Tiego Floyd Mabusela.

The money-laundering charges were said to carry fines of up to R100 million or up to 30 years’ imprisonment.

Accused, custody and pleas

Matlala, described in the indictment as accused three, is on trial with alleged gunmen Musa Kekana (accused one) and Tiego Floyd Mabusela (accused two), his wife Tsakani Matlala (accused four), and Nthabiseng Zandile Nzama (accused five). Kekana, Mabusela and Matlala are in custody; Tsakani and Nzama are out on bail. All five pleaded not guilty to the charges read into the record.

Courtroom exchanges and sentencing warnings

Judge Cassim Moosa questioned the state on the rifle’s calibre during proceedings and reminded the accused of the consequences of a conviction on the attempted murder counts. He asked accused one, Kekana, whether he understood that a conviction on those counts, read with section 51(1), would ordinarily attract a sentence of life imprisonment unless substantial and compelling circumstances were shown.

Moosa also warned Tsakani Matlala, who is charged as an accessory after the fact in the counts linked to the Thobejane shooting, that the state was, at present, relying on the minimum sentencing legislation on those charges.

Trial timetable and procedural matters

Proceedings only began about midday on Monday after counsel raised a diary clash. Judge Moosa ordered the trial to run through to Friday, 7 August, then to pause from 11 to 28 August. The trial is scheduled to resume on 31 August and run until 18 September. The state handed the defence an updated witness list on Monday.

Background details in court

The court heard that counts related to the Sibanyoni and Mokubung incidents were centralised to Johannesburg from the Pretoria jurisdiction on the direction of the national director of public prosecutions in October last year.

Thobejane, who previously had a relationship with Matlala that ended in 2021, watched Monday’s proceedings from the public gallery. The article quoted her earlier remark to the Sunday Times:

“What hurts most is that I loved someone who later became the reason I feared for my life.”

Next steps

The trial continued on Tuesday in the Johannesburg High Court.