Parly committee chair insists Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala will appear despite legal threats

The chairperson of the Parliament ad hoc committee probing police corruption, Soviet Lekganyane, has insisted that Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala will appear before the committee despite his legal threats to interdict his much-anticipated hearing.

Lekganyane said Matlala will appear on Wednesday, Thursday and possibly on Friday to answer to allegations that he influenced police operational decisions around the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) and also paid millions to politicians like suspended Minister Senzo Mchunu and former Minister Bheki Cele in return for political favours.

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Matlala will also face a grilling from members of the committee on his R360 million dodgy police tender, which was cancelled because it didn't meet requirements.

Matlala's hearing will take place at the Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Facility in Pretoria.

Whether Matlala will appear before the committee over the next two days came into question on Tuesday, after his lawyers wrote to Lekganye asking for more time to prepare.

Matlala's lawyers said their client is not prepared for the appearance and requested additional time before giving evidence to the ad hoc committee, which travelled all the way from Cape Town to hear his evidence at the Pretoria prison.

Matlala is currently behind bars awaiting trial for attempted murder.

On Tuesday night, Lekganyane told the media that after South African Police Service (SAPS) CFO Puleng Dimpano's appearance, it's all systems go for Matlala's appearance, which was planned weeks ago.

Lekganyane would not be drawn into the legal threat by Matlala referring all questions to his lawyers.

Matlala's lawyers also argued for a postponement because Matlala's detention in the C Max prison had negatively affected his "health and mental capacity", and this is an issue that was raised during his failed bail application.