Pretoria – KwaZulu-Natal Hawks head Major-General Lesetja Senona has told the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry that his relationship with businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala was purely personal and social, insisting he had no knowledge of Matlala’s alleged criminal activities.
Testifying on day 47 of the commission, Senona said he met Matlala around 2018–2019 at a traditional wedding in Mamelodi, where Matlala was introduced to him as the owner of CAT VIP Security Services through a relative of his wife.
“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.
Major General Lesetja Senona says he met Vusimuzi Cat Matlala in 2019 in Pretoria during his own traditional wedding.
He told the #MadlangaCommission that Matlala was introduced to him by a relative of his wife, who was dating Matlala at the time.
Senona says they got along… pic.twitter.com/imnZ5ZmtHC
— MDN NEWS (@MDNnewss) January 27, 2026
“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.”
He described Matlala as humble and said their relationship was not linked to his role as head of the Hawks.
Major General Lesetja Senona says he liked Vusimuzi Cat Matlala because he was humble.#MadlangaCommission pic.twitter.com/7aQWnPc1jV
— MDN NEWS (@MDNnewss) January 27, 2026
Senona declined to clarify whether Matlala is related to his wife, citing concerns about causing tension at home, but confirmed that his wife does know him.
“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 said.
MADLANGA COMMISSION | Maj-Gen Lesetja Senona declines to answer questions about his wife’s relationship with Vusimuzi “CAT” Matlala, despite them sharing the same surname. pic.twitter.com/xsbysumpbL
— SABC News (@SABCNews) January 27, 2026
Over time, Senona said, the two became friends, regularly communicating and meeting socially when in the same city.
He maintained that Matlala has never been investigated by the Hawks in KwaZulu-Natal and that his name had never come up in any national or provincial Hawks forums. He said he occasionally gave Matlala general advice on security matters.
Senona denied allegations by senior Crime Intelligence figures that he abused his position to benefit Matlala.
These allegations, outlined in a Rule 3 notice, include claims that he leaked confidential SAPS information to Matlala and helped him and associates linked to the so-called “Big Five cartel”.
He dismissed the accusations as malicious and false, denying any leaks or improper conduct.
Senona said he had no knowledge of a “Big Five cartel”, joking that the only Big Five he knows are wildlife species, and insisted there is no cartel infiltration within the KZN Hawks, though he acknowledged isolated cases of police corruption in the province.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, X and Instagram
Picture: X/@Dorn_Excel
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Source: AFP
