The denial came hours after Sergeant Fannie Nkosi of the Gauteng Organised Crime Unit testified that Matlala had phoned him demanding the return of his Luxor black bank card “urgently” because he had scheduled meetings with Mashatile and suspended Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya. According to a handwritten statement Nkosi gave to police after a raid on his home, the call occurred around December 23, 2025.

Nkosi, who had possession of the card at the time and had used it with Matlala’s permission to buy boat accessories, told the commission he could not speculate on why Matlala needed it back. He omitted any reference to Mashatile when he later typed up his statement for the inquiry, describing the omission as a “human error.”

In a swift response, Mashatile’s office stated that the deputy president does not know Matlala, has never met him, and was out of the country on the date in question. Spokesperson Keith Khoza emphasised there was “no connection whatsoever” between the deputy president and the alleged underworld figure.

The testimony forms part of the Madlanga Commission’s broader probe into alleged infiltration of criminal syndicates into the police and criminal justice system.

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Testifying before the Madlanga Commission, Major General Patronella Van Rooyen said Parliament turned a blind eye to serious allegations against KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, months before his explosive public outburst in July.

She stressed that even a basic inquiry by the Portfolio Committee would have shown proper oversight. “The fact that the committee didn’t act is, in my mind, a failure of their mandate,” Van Rooyen said.

Mkhwanazi made headlines on July 6 when, flanked by heavily armed tactical officers, he accused Police Minister Senzo Mchunu of interfering in major investigations and ordering the shutdown of the Political Killings Task Team. He also alleged that Mchunu shielded criminal networks linked to politics and law enforcement.

National Commissioner Fannie Masemola backed these claims, while Mchunu and suspended deputy commissioner Shadrack Sibiya were accused of ties to controversial businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and Katiso Molefe.

Van Rooyen told the commission that Mchunu had no legal authority to disband the task team. “That decision fell outside his mandate,” she said, citing Section 207 of the Constitution, which gives operational control of the police to the commissioner—not the minister.

Her testimony adds weight to growing claims that political meddling has weakened South Africa’s fight against crime.

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