The alleged plot to kidnap Pretoria businessman Jerry Boshoga in 2024 is disclosed by Matlala’s henchmen.
Tiego Mabusela and Musa Kekana also discuss how they will charge “5clipa” (R500,000) each for the kidnapping in the messages, which were exclusively obtained by the Sunday Times.
In November 2024, Boshoga was abducted in Centurion. He has not been seen since, and it is uncertain whether he is still alive, despite numerous ransom demands and videos.
We inform the Team that it will cost one million rands to retrieve and transport him, and we will collect him after three days. — Tiego Mabusela in a WhatsApp message to Musa Kekana.
Mabusela and Kekana are alleged to be members of a gang that is highly feared in the vicinity of Atteridgeville, Pretoria.
They are purportedly responsible for extortions, contract killings, and kidnappings.
In conjunction with Matlala, they are accused of the attempted murders of:
Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni, the taxi company’s manager; DJ Vettys (Seunkie Mokubung); and Matlala’s former girlfriend is actress Tebogo Thobejane.
Alongside Katiso “KT” Molefe, they are also accused of the murders of DJ Sumbody (Oupa John Sefoka), DJ Vintos (Hector Buthelezi) and Armand Swart, a Vereeniging engineer, is purportedly murdered in a case of mistaken identity.
On the evening of February 14, 2024, Mabusela and Kekana engage in a WhatsApp conversation during which Mabusela shares a photograph of Boshoga and a subsequent message that simply states, “That’s the guy.”
Mabusela continues to characterize Boshoga as a prominent figure in Pretoria, while Kekana inquires about his name in order to locate additional photographs of him on social media accounts.
“Me and you inform the Team that the cost is one million rands for the purpose of capturing and transporting him. We will collect the money after three days. I believe that setting aside five clips with a value of R500k each is sufficient for us. If we are four, each clip would cost R250k. Is this a reasonable amount?” In the messages, Mabusela states.
Kekana responds, stating, “I believe they will be amenable to the R1M, as it is merely necessary to transport him.”
Police have focused on Mabusela and Kekana, whom they suspect of serving as Matlala’s henchmen in order to “perform criminal activities on his behalf.”
According to the police, Mabusela has maintained correspondence with Matlala since 2021.
The police stated in their investigation that “there are numbers with which [Mabusela] can be observed communicating during the time frame of Thobejane’s attempted killing, as well as during later conversations about planned killings and kidnappings where [it is implied that Cat was] involved.”
The police discovered that Mabusela and Kekana had also planned the attack on Thobejane and Sibanyoni on WhatsApp after their arrest in 2024, when their phones were confiscated.
Boshoga disappeared without a trace after a harrowing video of an assault was circulated, and his whereabouts are still unknown to investigators.
In Wierdapark, Centurion, Boshoga was abducted while attending a meeting at a KFC.
The abductors demanded a ransom of R60m from his family. According to the Sunday Times, the kidnappers subsequently decreased their demand to R25m in Bitcoin and subsequently to R10m.