Cape Town – Alleged crime boss Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala has been denied bail by the Johannesburg High Court after appealing a previous decision by the Alexandra Magistrates’ Court, which had also ruled him ineligible for bail.
Matlala is accused of orchestrating a planned hit on his actress ex-girlfriend girlfriend, Tebogo Thobejane, on the N1 highway near Sandton in 2023.
According to EWN, one of the reasons the Alexandra Magistrates’ Court denied Matlala bail was his possession of an Eswatini ID, along with evidence suggesting that he had asked his wife for a photograph of it, as well as his foreign financial interests.
Investigations revealed that Matlala holds a trust account in Mauritius, leading Judge Pieter du Plessis to label him a flight risk.
Du Plessis stated that he would not dispute the Magistrates’ Court’s assessment that Matlala poses a risk of fleeing and potentially evading trial.
#VusimuziMatlala Acting Judge du Plessis finds that the magistrate court did not err when it denied Matlala bail. His application is dismissed.#eNCA pic.twitter.com/rmPRHwYkma
— Silindelo Masikane (@Sli_Masikane) October 27, 2025
According to IOL, Matlala’s legal representative, Advocate Laurance Hodes, SC, argued that the state misled the court by claiming that Matlala owned assets in Mauritius.
Hodes argued that there was no evidence to hold the accusations true and therefore, the client should not be labelled as a flight risk.
He added that his client has been co-operating with authorities after being made aware of the investigation in December 2024, where he even participated in a 10-hour investigation.
However, evidence found that Matlala was found with a mobile phone during a raid at Kgosi Mampuru Prison, exposing his abilities to bypass lawful restrictions and communicate with the outside world, potentially endangering witnesses.
In the phone prosecutors revealed a contact saved as “Operator” and showed attempted contact from Northwest businessman Brown Mogotsi.
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Compiled by Anda Tolibadi
