Major-General Senona's testimony reveals corruption allegations against police officials in Matlala case

Suspected crime kingpin, Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala, allegedly shared information to KwaZulu-Natal SAPS Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi about a Sandton house where suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya purportedly collected money in a State vehicle. 

Matlala also allegedly claimed to have paid R2 million towards Sibiya's plot purchase. 

These allegations  emerged in testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry in Pretoria, where KZN Hawks head Major-General Lesetja Senona was testifying on Tuesday.

The shocking claims were captured in a WhatsApp message Mkhwanazi allegedly sent to Senona about his meeting with Matlala at his Durban homestead on April 15, 2025.

The meeting was allegedly arranged by former Police minister Bheki Cele for Matlala to get Mkhwanazi's help with his dispute over a cancelled R360 million SAPS medical services contract with his company Medicare24.

Matlala had stopped receiving purchase orders from the SAPS Pretoria College. Senona and Matlala attended the meeting with Mkhwanazi, but Cele was absent.

However, Mkhwanazi's WhatsApp messages on November 26, 2025, suggested that Senona arranged the meeting, contradicting his testimony.

The message read: “Hi General (Senona) I trust you are well. You made arrangements that I meet this guy Cat because he is your friend and brother.  And he needed my help to speak to General (Lineo) Nkhuoa to place orders on his contract. 

“He volunteered information about a house in Sandton where Sibiya collects money in a State vehicle and that he paid R2 million towards Sibiya's purchase of his plot. He also told me about Sibiya's townhouse.” 

Mkhwanazi allegedly implied Matlala misled the Ad Hoc Committee, saying Matlala introduced their meeting and then lied under oath, putting his own life at risk by inviting Mkhwanazi to reveal information Matlala shared.

Mkhwanazi's message continued, saying he is going to the committee and will not hesitate to expose Matlala to Sibiya and another person whose identity was withheld at the commission.

“If he thinks he can fool the committee, it is okay. I will not say much, but I will simply play a recording of our meeting because I have the record,” read Mkhwanazi’s message.

Senona testified that Mkhwanazi's messages seemed intimidating, so he forwarded them to his attorneys, who wrote a letter requesting the recordings, but have not received them yet.

“When you get these types of messages, you then get an insinuating situation that ‘don't talk about this’,” he said. 

Pressed to identify a part in the message that specifically warned him to be careful, he admitted Mkhwanazi did not explicitly say “I must not go there and testify but it leaves me with an impression that I must be careful”.

“These messages rattled me as a person and not because I am worried about the recording. I am looking forward to those recordings if they do exist,” Senona said.

He also told the commission that he received a letter of intended transfer last Friday January 23, 2026, from his employer related to the evidence of Witness C and Witness  X before the commission.

Senona told the commission that he was not privy to all that was discussed during a meeting in question because he was moving between the living area and the kitchen, enjoying whiskey offered to him by Mkhwanazi.

According to him, Mkhwanazi agreed to assist Matlala with purchase orders and offered to halt an investigation against Matlala related to the attempted murder case of his ex-girlfriend, Tebogo Thobejane, in exchange for information about Sibiya. 

Senona disputed allegations that he helped Matlala secure a R360 million SAPS contract, labelling the claims baseless and frivolous. 

“I have no knowledge of the broader allegations of criminality surrounding Medicare24 tender. My knowledge is limited to the information Mr Matlala has shared with me and that which I have read in the media. I am aware that Medicare24 was founded by Mr Matlala,” he said.

He told the commission that high-value tenders, like the one Matlala's company bid on, are handled by SAPS national office's supply management division, under the divisional commissioner of supply chain. 

Senona denied lacking knowledge of officials involved in the contract or committee members who participated in the tender process.

“I, therefore, never received a kickback of any kind directly or indirectly from Mr Matlala for his securing of the tender,” Senona said.

Both Witness X and Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo, head of Crime Intelligence, implicated him in sharing sensitive police information with alleged crime Matlala.

“I will never take information that is in the custody of the police and share it with any other person. I will not do that. It is not correct to do that and I will never do that. When I took office, I signed an oath. I will never do that,” he said.

He denied allegations that he facilitated a property deal between Matlala and his son, Thato Senona, stating that his relationship with Matlala was purely social.

He said he only learned about his son Thato's business dealings with Matlala when Matlala told him Thato had approached him with a property venture proposal.

The business venture between Thato Senona and Matlala did not materialise, despite initial progress in 2025, with plans to acquire Pretoria property, according to Senona.

According to him, he first met Matlala at his traditional wedding in Mamelodi, Pretoria, around 2018-2019. He was introduced as a businessman and they exchanged numbers. 

He described his relationship with Matlala as brotherly or friendly, saying they would regularly chat and meet up when he was in Durban.

rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za