The Madlanga Commission testimony by Suliman Carrim, bottom of picture, has revealed the financial links between himself and Hangwani Morgan Maumela, top left, and Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala, top right.
Image: File and Oupa Mokoena / Independent Newspapers
Testimony before the Madlanga Commission from North West businessman Suliman Carrim, which his legal team argued needed to be held behind closed doors, has revealed the ties between himself, alleged crime kingpin Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala and alleged Tembisa Hospital tender scandal kingpin Hangwani Morgan Maumela.
In Carrim's evidence, which the Commission ruled must he heard in public, he described multimillion-rand transactions to Maumela and Matlala. He said he was pressured into making certain payments.
On Tuesday, evidence leader Advocate Matthew Chaskalson SC made clear the commission's interest in the matter as he said it wanted to understand the relationship between Matlala, Maumela, and Carrim, particularly how the transactions were carried out.
Both Matlala and Maumela were implicated in the R2 billion corruption scandal at Tembisa Hospital, where the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) uncovered syndicates that allegedly looted over R2 billion through fraudulent tenders.
One of the syndicates, the SIU alleged in its report, is led by Maumela, and it is accused of siphoning over R816.5 million through 1,728 separate purchase orders, bypassing standard procurement controls.
Matlala, described as an associate of Maumela, allegedly controlled three companies that were awarded contracts worth approximately R13m to R15m as part of Maumela’s syndicate. The contracts were mostly under R500,000, allowing the bypass of proper tender processes.
In October 2025, the SIU raided Maumela’s luxury mansion in Sandhurst and seized assets, including luxury vehicles such as Lamborghinis. A preservation order was obtained for assets worth roughly R900m linked to the syndicate.
Matlala was arrested in May 2025 on unrelated charges, including attempted murder, conspiracy, and money laundering.
The investigation, sparked by the 2021 revelations of slain whistle-blower Babita Deokaran, found that the initial R850m flagged had ballooned to over R2bn.
Deokaran, a senior finance official at the Gauteng Department of Health, was assassinated in August 2021 after flagging suspicious payments.
Carrim has testified that he funded Matlala's Medicare24 company with R10 million and had a mining deal with Maumela.
According to him, Matlala had approached him for financial help due to cash flow issues following a R360 million SAPS tender award in 2024.
He said Matlala was evasive about repayment, but paid R1.75 million by mid-March 2025.
Matlala then asked him to pay R750,000 of that amount to Maumela, which he refused. He eventually agreed to pay R500,000 to Luthagha Trading Enterprise, which is allegedly linked to Maumela's sister, after Maumela claimed control over the account.
His evidence showed it was not his first payment to Luthagha. He had paid the company over R42m between December 2023 and November 2024 through his company, Ziggy Investment.
Additionally, he paid Luthagha over R3m between August 2024 and March 2025 through his company Tameez.
In one of the suspicious transactions, Carrim discussed a mining project with Maumela in 2023, agreeing to raise R50 million and R5 million in capital.
Maumela raised R56 million, transferred it to Carrim’s Ziggy's account, but later asked for a refund, citing issues with his house and losing R1m monthly.
Carrim told the commission that Maumela requested R40 million of the money paid to Carrim through Maumela's trust lawyers just hours after the money was deposited.
On Monday, he defended his business ties with both Matlala and Maumela, saying he believed funds from the pair passing through his business accounts were legitimate business transactions.
He said his friendship with Maumela began in 2022, when he purchased a house from him through an estate agency. He said he knew Matlala because both of them are in the security sector.
He said he did not know that both Matlala and Maumela were business associates, except after reading "stuff" about them in the media regarding the Tembisa Hospital tender scandal.
Chaskalson said on Monday: "We know that Matlala and Maumela have been involved in widespread tender fraud and corruption at the Tembisa Hospital alongside what we see in this case."
He suggested that if the SAPS Medicare24 contract was obtained through fraud and corruption, the proceeds would be considered proceeds of crime, triggering Section 5 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA), which states that a person commits a money-laundering offence by proceeding with a deal knowing it resulted from proceeds of crime.
"One of the many issues which this commission is going to have to consider is whether to recommend money-laundering prosecution under Section 5 of POCA against either yourself, Matlala, or Maumela arising from the payments sent to Luthagha by Tameez," he said.
When Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga asked Carrim why Matlala did not pay Maumela directly, Carrim said he had queried this on numerous occasions, but Matlala insisted Carrim must make the payments.
Carrim said: "Rightfully, Matlala had to pay him but they put me under pressure for me to have paid him."
He conceded that he was scared of both Matlala and Maumela and complied with their requests.
Carrim's testimony was adjourned to April 16, 2026.