Cat Matlala to remain behind bars after second bail appeal rejected

The Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg has denied bail to controversial businessman and alleged member of the drug syndicate Vusimuzi Cat Matlala.

Matlala who is charged with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and money laundering made his bail application appeal after an earlier Alexandra Magistrate's Court ruling which denied him bail last month.

Judge Pieter Du Plessis said the court has taken into consideration, the public profile that has been garnered by the accused.

"This court acknowledges the high public profile of the intense applicant and the intense media scrutiny surrounding this matter, especially in the context of broader allagstions against the appellant and the criminal justice system. However, in fulfilling its solemn judicial oath. This judgement is delivered sorelely on dispassionate and objective analysis of the facts as presented, the relevant case law and in the legal principles governing bail as set out in the Criminal Procedure Act, " he said.

Furthermore it is reported that Matlala who stands accused of orchestrating the allaged hit on his former girlfriend, Tebogo Thobejane is facing charges of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and money laundering.

This past week, the 49-year-old was implicated by Crime Intelligence boss Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo at the Madlanga Commission as a member of the so-called “Big Five” cartel, which is reported to have infiltrated political sphere economic and personal gain.

Matlala also faces charges of conspiracy to commit murder and money laundering. He was denied bail in September at the Alexandra Magistrates’ Court after Magistrate Syta Prinsloo ruled that he had failed to demonstrate exceptional circumstances justifying his release and found that he posed a flight risk.

The State previously opposed bail, alleging that the murder accused proximity to lower and his access to a private jet, foreign assets in Mauritius, and possession of a fraudulent Eswatini identity document as being central to the ruling.

However, last week, Matlala’s legal representative, Advocate Laurance Hodes, SC, indicated that the state has misled the court by claiming the accused owned a private jet and a boat in Mauritius, with Hodes saying there was no evidence of the allaged assets.