Gagash, wife bail appeal removed as Defense team caught between two cases
POLOKWANE: Proceedings in the bail appeal of Tshwane Metro Police Department officer Peter “Gagash” Nonyane and his wife, attorney Charlotte Tibana, lasted less than a minute at the Polokwane High Court on Wednesday.
Senior Associate at Hlawu Maluleke Attorneys, Advocate Mokgadi Makhurupetje, surprised everyone after submitting a request to remove the couple’s bail appeal from the court roll.
“We request the court to remove the bail application of both accused,” Makhurupetje told the court.
The development comes as legal proceedings involving Tsakani Matlala, the wife of businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, enter a new phase following her arrest in a separate fraud matter. The legal representatives of the suspended Attorney Charlotte Tibana and her TMPD offficer husband are also representing Tsakan Matlala
who appeared alongside three co-accused in the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday in connection with allegations involving a fraudulent lease agreement for a Waterkloof property. She faces charges including fraud, uttering and forgery.
She was granted R20,000 bail, while the matter was postponed to 29 October 2026.
Tsakani is also a co-accused in the separate Johannesburg High Court case involving her husband, Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
The couple and their co-accused face 25 charges, including 11 counts of attempted murder. The State also alleges conspiracy to commit murder, fraud and money laundering. The NPA has said the charges arise from three alleged shooting incidents between August 2022 and January 2024.
Meanwhile, Nonyane and Tibana are facing 43 charges relating to allegations that approximately R6 million was misappropriated and laundered from deceased estates.
The State has alleged that the couple acted together in the alleged offences and that Tibana, who was an executor of some of the affected estates, interfered with witnesses and the investigation. The allegations formed part of the reasons advanced by the State when opposing their bail.
The Polokwane Magistrates’ Court denied the couple bail on 4 September 2026.
Their main criminal case has been postponed to 6 November 2026 to allow for further investigations.
The reasons surrounding Wednesday’s decision to remove the bail appeal from the High Court roll were not immediately clear from the brief proceedings.
