Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala, alleged mastermind behind a series of contract killings and a controversial businessman, is set to learn the fate of his bail appeal this Friday.

Matlala’s legal team has been battling to secure his release from custody, arguing that he deserves the opportunity to contest the charges against him while out on bail.

This comes as the State and Matlala’s legal team presented their heads of argument before the Gauteng High Court, sitting in Johannesburg, on Monday, with the presiding judge indicated that he had decided to reserve his judgment, which he will make known on Friday, October 24.

“Judgment has been reserved in this matter. I am not going to hand down the judgment today, but promise to do so on Friday, which is my open day for the judgment to be uploaded onto the system,” the judge said.

On Monday, Matlala approached the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, in a bid to appeal against the decision by the Magistrate’s Court to deny him bail last month.

The ruling followed his September application, where the court deemed him both a flight risk and a potential danger to society.

Matlala, whose name has also been linked with dodgy contracts at the Tembisa Hospital, faces accusations of masterminding the failed assassination of his former partner, socialite Tebogo Thobejane, in October 2023, an accusation Matlala has flatly denied.

During his earlier bail application, Matlala argued that being in jail has a negative impact on his business operations as well as his health.

However, the State, on Monday, argued that Matlala has not provided any evidence of having suffered any medical complication after spending more than five months in custody.

“Matlala has accused the police of having stolen watches during a search and seizure at his home. he has also accused the police of planting incriminating evidence on his phone. The appellant has not been impeccable in painting a narrative against the police, having accused them of stealing his watch collection during a search and seizure operation at his house.

“What the court should consider is that the appellant can bypass protocol, as he had access to a cellphone communication while in custody on July 6. The cellphone was being used on the day of the raid of his cell at Kgosi Mampuru Correctional facility,” the State prosecutor told the court on Monday.

The State had opposed bail, pointing to Matlala’s alleged access to a private jet, foreign assets in Mauritius, and possession of a fraudulent Eswatini identity document.

Arguing on behalf of his client, the defence lawyer for Matlala said there is no smoking gun on the alleged money laundering charges against his client.

“There is no smoking gun, and the invoice, they say, because of the receipt book, this is money laundering. That is the question. Because of the funeral parlour and the daughter of the co-accused, the appellant is guilty of money laundering.

“Here is a man who is being charged on circumstantial evidence of a communication; there is no DNA, they tie firearms from one scene to another, and there is no connection linking him to all of this. These are not his firearms. They arrive at his house, arrest him deny him bail on the basis that he is a flight risk. They point to a private jet,” the defence lawyer argued.

However, the State has indicated that its case is based on various strands of evidence, which link the accused through money transfers, WhatsApp conversations, and the falsified invoice, which was used to hide payments of alleged contract killers.

“We sit with the defence and say there is no evidence that the appellant could be linked to conversations and transfer of monies, and also, we have seized the invoice book from a funeral parlour where the invoice occurs completely out of sync and dated 23rd October 2024, and that is where money laundering comes from. The State contends that this invoice was falsified and submits that this was done to conceal the origins of the payments,” the prosecutor added.

Matlala’s legal team has pleaded with the court to consider a R100,000 bail and a possible house arrest for his client, who has been willing to cooperate with the investigations against him.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za

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