Cat Matlala payments mix-up: Mkhwanazi explains why Cele allegation was withdrawn

2026-03-18 - 13:20

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has detailed the circumstances that led to him withdrawing a serious allegation against former police minister Bheki Cele. Mkhwanazi appeared before Parliament’s ad hoc committee in Cape Town on Wednesday, 18 March 2026, as its final witness. The committee is investigating allegations of corruption, criminal infiltration and political interference within South Africa’s justice system and is expected to conclude its work by 31 March. Mkhwanazi explains Cele allegation Central to Mkhwanazi’s testimony was his retraction of a claim that Cele gave tenderpreneur Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala his banking details and had received money from the controversial businessman. The allegation was formally withdrawn in October 2025 during Cele’s appearance before the committee. On Wednesday, Mkhwanazi explained the error stemmed from the South African Police Service (Saps) data analysis conducted on two of Matlala’s iPhones. According to him, Matlala had saved a contact as “Ndosi” – Cele’s clan name – and exchanged WhatsApp messages with that number. ALSO READ: Cat Matlala spills on ‘R500k payout’ to Cele, police raids and the ‘Brown Mogotsi situation’ However, an analyst within the police later established that the number did not belong to Cele. Mkhwanazi explained that the number differed from Cele’s by only a single digit, which led to the incorrect identification. “The system that the analyst was using in punching the numbers and tracing the communication drew a different number because of this confusion in the middle,” Mkhwanazi said. The Saps analyst has since submitted a statement to both the committee and the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), which is probing a perjury complaint linked to the matter. Payments made to wrong person Mkhwanazi told the committee that Matlala appeared to believe he was communicating with Cele, when in fact he was interacting with an unrelated individual. The owner of the number received messages containing banking details and documents he did not understand. After engaging with Matlala, the recipient provided a Capitec account, into which funds were deposited. READ MORE: ‘Mkhwanazi told me I should’ve committed suicide’: Police officer details KZN top cop’s ‘role’ in torture Thereafter, he “enjoyed” the money with his partner, according to Mkhwanazi. “This man was appreciative because he was unemployed. He said he took some of this money and gave it to his girlfriend. “He wanted more money because he doesn’t know who is this person that he is donating this money to him.” Watch the ad hoc committee’s inquiry below: Mkhwanazi indicated that the situation only became clear after Matlala directly questioned the recipient, asking, “who are you?” The businessman later deleted their message history once the confusion was resolved. An affidavit has been submitted by the individual confirming these events. Mkhwanazi stressed that the person saved as “Ndosi” had no ties to the former minister. “It is Cat himself that addresses him as Bab’ Ndosi. This person has got no relationship with the Cele clan. He goes with a different surname [which is] Mhlanga.” Relationship between Cele and Matlala Despite retracting the payment allegation, Mkhwanazi maintained that there were still grounds for concern regarding the relationship between Matlala and Cele. He told the committee that Saps human resources head Lineo Nkhuoa had informed him that Cele had pushed to meet with her regarding Matlala’s R360 million police health services contract, which was later cancelled in May 2025. “There was that effort from General Cele to make sure that Matlala is assisted to some degree,” Mkhwanazi remarked. Matlala previously informed the committee that he approached Cele for assistance after experiencing delays in receiving payments from Saps. Mkhwanazi said this raised questions about the nature of their interactions. He added that although Cele did not play a role in awarding the tender, he was still serving as minister when the contract was granted to Matlala in June 2024. Cele also previously admitted to staying at Matlala’s penthouse in Pretoria in January 2025. NOW READ: Top KZN cop Mkhwanazi’s second term gets thumbs up from premier