Pretoria – Businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala has defended himself before Parliament’s ad hoc committee as questions continue to mount over how his company secured a controversial R360 million health services contract for the South African Police Service.
Matlala testified from Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Centre, where he is currently detained, during a sitting that has drawn national attention. The committee was set up in October 2023 to investigate corruption, political interference and the suspected infiltration of criminal syndicates within the police service.
Committee members questioned Matlala about the circumstances that led to Medicare24 Tshwane District receiving the lucrative contract in June 2024 despite an internal audit later finding serious compliance failures.
Matlala gave a lengthy account of his personal background and business interests. He told the committee he grew up in Mamelodi East and began trading informally after matric. He said he was once convicted for buying unregistered goods, receiving a four year sentence in 2001 that was later converted to correctional supervision.
He described himself as a father of nine and said he operates a security company that provides services to four schools. He said his introduction to the healthcare sector began after meeting Medicare24 founder Mike van Wyk, who lived in the same estate. According to him, Van Wyk encouraged him to register a company that could supply healthcare services in township settings.
He said he had already been supplying medical products to clinics and hospitals through requests for quotations. He added that the franchise arrangement with Van Wyk meant Medicare24 Holdings handled management while he ran Medicare24 Tshwane District.
Committee evidence leader Advocate Norman Arendse questioned whether Van Wyk had used him as a front. Matlala rejected that interpretation and maintained that their business dealings were legitimate, arguing that he had full control over finances.
Matlala also told MPs he resigned from Medicare24 in December 2024, shortly after the SAPS contract was finalised. He said he failed to inform the police service of his resignation, calling it an oversight.
Testimony given earlier by SAPS Chief Financial Officer Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane painted a troubling picture of the tender process. She said the contract was flagged as a possible irregular expenditure in March 2024 and confirmed as irregular two months later. Out of the R360 million advertised value, R466 million was later recorded as irregular expenditure, leading her to freeze remaining payments.
MPs pressed Matlala on the company’s qualifications after media reports and SAPS auditors found Medicare24 did not have a valid operating licence and had failed to disclose important supplier relationships. These findings raised questions about whether proper due diligence was conducted by SAPS Supply Chain Management, which was headed at the time by Lieutenant General Molefe Fani.
Last week Fani told the committee that he believed the tender process had been handled correctly and insisted that Medicare24 was compliant on the government’s supplier database at the time. He told MPs he did not expect any investigation to implicate him.
Further scrutiny was raised about Matlala’s decision to rent a hospital facility on the SAPS training academy grounds in Pretoria West in December 2023, months before the tender was awarded. Matlala insisted the timing was coincidental and said he had pursued the lease for three years because he saw a business opportunity to service police trainees.
He told the committee that Medicare24 Tshwane District had never secured a major contract before the SAPS deal. He said he submitted documents showing Medicare24 Holdings would undertake the actual work while his company held the franchise rights.
The contract has since been terminated.
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