Major-General Lesetja Senona, head of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Hawks, has testified about his relationship with Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, who he described as a friend or brother.
Senona took the hot seat on day 47 of the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, where he denied any knowledge of Matlala’s alleged crimes.
The Hawks head said he met Matlala around 2018-19 in Mamelodi, Pretoria, at his traditional wedding.
“Matlala was introduced to me through a relative of my wife, who she was dating at the time. She said he was the owner of CAT VIP Security Services. We exchanged numbers and I happened to like him – he was humble,” Senona said.
“I never met him because he is a business person; my relationship with Matlala is not based on his security company or that I am the head of Hawks. Even at the wedding, I was never introduced as the head of the Hawks, but as a husband to my wife.”
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Although Senona said that his wife and Matlala shared the same surname, he refused to say whether they were related.
“I don’t want to answer that question. It’s not part and parcel of this; I don’t want to. I don’t want to create animosity in my own house by talking about the line of their relatives. This thing of relation, I beg your pardon, I’m begging for your mercy, allow me not to respond now, but if I’m compelled, I will seek legal advice.”
He, however, confirmed his wife does know Matlala.
‘Brother or friend’
The relationship developed over time and Senona considered Matlala a friend or brother.
“As can be seen from the WhatsApp chats, Matlala and I would regularly check in with each other and we would arrange to meet whenever he was in Durban or I was in Pretoria,” he said.
“Our meetings were purely of a social nature. I must make it plain to the commission that, since the beginning of my tenure at DPCI KZN, Mr Matlala has never been the subject of an investigation within the directorate.
“Further to that, the name Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala has never been mentioned at the national management forum, national project committee or the provincial project forum. I therefore possess no knowledge of Mr Matlala’s alleged criminal ties or activities. I did on occasion meet with Mr Matlala and advise him on security matters concerning CAT VIP Security.”
KZN Hawks head on allegations
During their testimonies, Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo, Witness X and Witness C alleged that Senona used his position to benefit Matlala.
The commission issued Senona a Rule 3 notice, which reads:
“The testimony of Lt Gen Khumalo implicates you in matters under investigation, in particular inter alia:
“1.1. Improper use of your position as the Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation KwaZulu-Natal, in that you leaked sensitive and/or confidential and classified Saps information or documents, or caused the same to be leaked to Mr Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala, a business partner of your son, Mr Thato Senona.
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“1.2. Improper use of your position as the head of DCPI KZN to unduly benefit Mr Matlala and other members and associates of the so-called Big Five cartel.”
‘No idea of Big Five cartel’
He denied the allegations as “malicious and void of truth”.
“I deny having leaked any confidential information or using my position as the provincial head for the benefit of Mr Matlala or the Big Five cartel.
“I don’t even know what this thing called the Big Five cartel is, I only know the Big Five in the country. The Big Five that I know are an elephant, a lion, a buffalo, a rhinoceros and a leopard. Those are the Big Five I know in the country. What is mentioned here, I don’t know what they are talking about.”
He said the only cartels he has dealt with his province are those who deal in drugs, cash-in-transit robberies and drive-by shootings, which he said have been stabilised.
“The syndicates I have dealt with and continue to deal with, are limited to KZN.
“I therefore possess no knowledge as to the business conducted by the Big Five cartel and the composition of this Big Five cartel.
“There are cases where police officials are corrupted by perpetrators of crime in my province. However, these are individual cases not linked to syndicates.
“I can, however, positively affirm that there is no cartel infiltration within the DPCI-KZN.”
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