Key figure in South Africa police corruption scandal pleads guilty

Vusimusi "Cat" Matlala, a central figure in a major ongoing police graft inquiry in South Africa, has pleaded guilty to corruption, fraud and money-laundering charges as part of a deal with state prosecutors.

He was accused of bribing top police officials to win a 360m rand ($22m; £16.5m) tender for his health company Medicare24 in 2024.

The plea deal, which has not yet been accepted by the magistrate, would result in Matlala giving evidence against "high-ranking officials", state advocate Santhos Manilall said.

Police chief Gen Fannie Masemola is one of those facing charges in relation to this case. He has denied the charges.

Manilall told the court in the capital, Pretoria, that it had taken almost two months of negotiations to put the deal together.

If accepted, it would result in Matlala, 49, serving eight years in prison.

The state's lawyer said that the "sacrifice" of a more lenient sentence would be worth it, as "for the first time we have an accused who has... given us detail that we would not have been made aware of".

As part of the deal, Matlala is required to give honest and frank testimony at future trials.

But in a blistering attack, the Democratic Alliance (DA), the junior partner in South Africa's governing coalition, called the arrangement a "sweetheart deal" and "a betrayal of accountability" that may not result in a successful prosecution.

DA justice spokesperson Glynnis Breytenbach said it was evidence of a two-tier justice system, as "one of the country's most prominent corruption accused is allowed to negotiate what amounts to a discounted sentence".

The magistrate at the Pretoria court is expected to give his ruling on the plea deal next week.

Matlala, who is also facing a separate murder charge that he denies, has been named by a witness at the corruption inquiry known as the Madlanga Commission as being part of a drug-trafficking cartel that has managed to penetrate the police.

He has not commented on this accusation but, giving evidence at a parallel parliamentary corruption inquiry last year, denied knowing senior police officers and politicians personally.

Matlala has yet to appear at the Madlanga Commission.

Witnesses at that inquiry, which began last September, have alleged collusion between criminal underworld figures and senior police officials.

It was set up after senior police officer Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi alleged last July that organised crime groups had infiltrated the government.