Police minister hits back at claims of links to Vusimusi ‘Cat' Matlala
The minister claims he has never met Vusimusi 'Cat' Matlala.
He also says he knows Brown Mogotsi, but that Mogotsi is 'not an associate'.
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has shot back at KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi's claims, insisting he doesn't know controversial tenderpreneur Vusimusi 'Cat' Matlala.
In an explosive press conference in Durban on Sunday, Mkhwanazi openly declared that the minister was under criminal investigation, alleging that the police's top brass had been infiltrated by underworld actors – among them Matlala, who, News24 previously reported, scored a R360-million health services tender from the SAPS, despite being investigated for procurement fraud at Tembisa Hospital.
The tender has since been cancelled.
In the interim, Matlala was arrested and charged earlier this year for an attempted hit on his former lover, influencer and actress Tebogo Thobejane.
Mkhwanazi said an analysis of Matlala's phone records had uncovered a secret plot to shut down the political killings task team after its members were roped in to assist with cases to which he had been linked.
He also claimed Matlala was financially supporting the minister.
Despite calls for restraint from President Cyril Ramaphosa, Mchunu's office said in a statement on Wednesday that he wanted to 'clarify' that he had 'never met Mr Matlala', had never 'spoken to him, nor has the minister ever requested or received anything from him'.
'The minister did, however, initiate a review of the SAPS tender awarded to him when suspicions of possible wrongdoing surfaced. It was the same tender which has since been terminated,' the statement read.
Over the weekend, Mkhwanazi also pointed to communication between Matlala, a 'Brown Mogotsi', and Mchunu and claimed Matlala was bankrolling Mogotsi's political endeavours.
Mchunu's office added: 'Furthermore, whilst the minister knows and has met Mr Brown Mogotsi, he is just a comrade and not an associate of the minister. The minister has never requested or received anything from him.'
This is in stark contrast to his previous claims in Parliament that he did 'not know this person'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Leaders of Parallel Government Named in War-Torn Sudan
A coalition led by the paramilitary group fighting for power in Sudan's brutal civil war has announced the leadership for its self-declared parallel government, further tearing the fabric of an politically fraying nation. As fighting in central and south Sudan intensifies, the Sudan Founding Alliance said Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, would head a 15-person government council that would include regional governors. A statement issued on Saturday named a Sudanese politician, Mohamed Hassan Othman al-Ta'ayshi, as prime minister. The coalition said the formation of the council renewed its 'commitment to building an inclusive homeland and a new, secular, democratic, decentralized, and voluntarily unified Sudan founded on the principles of freedom, justice, and equality.' When pressed, the spokesman for the coalition, Alaa Eldin Awad Naqd, said, 'We have six-month emergency plans in every service sector, and there are strategic plans in all sectors in the country.' He would not elaborate. The next step for the parallel government, he said, will be the formation of a ministerial council. Democracy activists in Sudan have long denounced the military's stranglehold on power, but the coalition's lofty language notwithstanding, fighters for the Rapid Support Forces, known as the R.S.F., have been accused of atrocities. Rights groups, the United Nations and the United States have accused both sides of war crimes, but only the R.S.F. has been implicated in genocide. A 2023 outbreak of violence against the Masalit ethnic group by the R.S.F., whose fighters are predominantly ethnic Arabs, led to allegations of ethnic cleansing. Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday condemned the coalition's announcement and called on other governments to avoid interacting with 'this illegitimate entity declared by the terrorist militia.' Alan Boswell, the Horn of Africa director at the International Crisis Group, said the coalition's announcement would only deepen Sudan's division. 'R.S.F. appears to think this move will increase its own legitimacy and leverage,' he said. 'More likely, it will only make the war even harder to end and Sudan even harder to piece back together.' The war grew out of a feud between opposing generals in April 2023 and has since killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and plunged much of the country into famine. Though Sudanese forces drove the R.S.F. out of Khartoum in March, the paramilitary-led coalition has declared its own government in the areas it still holds. Most of that territory is in the Kordofan and Darfur regions, with the exception of the embattled city of El Fasher, which is held by Sudan's Army. American officials have warned of ethnic slaughter if the R.S.F. is able to take over the city. Abdalrahman Altayeb contributed reporting.
Fox News
6 hours ago
- Fox News
Iran's Africa activities pose 'significant threats to US national security'
The State Department and the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have joined a chorus of analysts this week in warning Fox News Digital of "significant threats to U.S. national security" from the actions of Iran in Africa. Tehran is accused of reportedly buying uranium in Niger, supplying drones in violation of a U.N. arms embargo to forces in Sudan and promoting the growth of destabilizing Islamist fundamentalism and terrorism on the continent. "Iran's long arm of terror stretches around the globe, including in Africa", Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, told Fox News Digital, adding, "Iran is an enemy to freedom everywhere, and a threat to U.S. national security; our partners in Africa must proceed with caution before engaging with this dangerous, authoritarian regime." Reports surfaced initially last year from first the French media outlet Africa Intelligence, and then the Washington-based NGO the Institute for Science and International Security, that the West African nation of Niger had been negotiating the sale to Tehran of $56 million worth of so-called yellow cake – uranium oxide. The 300 tons of uranium, some of which, one source suggests, has been partly delivered already, would allegedly be enough to make 30 nuclear weapons. Analysts say Niger could be preparing to sell even more 'yellow cake' to Iran. Uranium in the country has up until recently been mined by mostly French companies, such as Orano. But Niger's military leaders, who came to power in a coup in 2023, announced that they will revoke mining licenses and nationalize mining operations. Iran is said to want to strike a deal to start uranium mining itself in Niger, particularly around Imouraren, an area where the ground is estimated to contain 200,000 tons of the metal. In a move seen to be towards Russia and Iran, Niger ended an agreement with the Biden administration last year, which led to the closing of two U.S. military bases in the country that were used for anti-terror operations. "In Niger, French outlets covering the continent have reported that there is a secret agreement between Iran and Niger trading uranium oxide for either drones or energy," Behnam Ben Taleblu told Fox News Digital. Taleblu, senior Director of the Iran Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) added, "The Islamic Republic is an opportunistic actor, both in the Middle East and further abroad." A State Department spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital that Iran's activities in Africa are on their radar, saying, "On Niger, we are monitoring the possibility of an Iranian acquisition of uranium. We would have serious concerns about Niger, or any country, transferring uranium to Iran." The spokesperson continued, "Iran's continued development of its nuclear program, (and its) role as the leading state sponsor of terrorism, and destabilizing regional behavior, pose significant threats to U.S. national security and to global stability. "The President has been clear: Iran cannot ever have a nuclear weapon." Iran, said to be interested in Sudan's gold, has been supplying Mohajer-6 drones to Khartoum's government, according to the U.S. Africa Command's Africa Defense Forum. They were used effectively by Sudan in recently reclaiming the capital city, Khartoum and the Presidential Palace. The FDD's Taleblu added, "Iranian drones are active on four continents today, one of which is the African continent, particularly when looking at the conflicts in Sudan and Ethiopia." The State Department spokesperson weighed in "On Sudan, we are aware of reports. Both the RSF and the SAF have used weapons acquired from foreign actors against the civilian population and infrastructure and have committed human rights violations and abuses. "Supplying arms to any of the belligerents prolongs the conflict and heightens the risk of further destabilization in Sudan and the region. The United States calls for an end to all external support to the warring parties, and urges all our partners to press for a comprehensive cessation of hostilities, and increased, unhindered humanitarian access," the spokesperson concluded. Then there is Iran's reported psychological warfare against Africa's communities. "Iran's core Africa strategy is to export its ideology into those communities as a counter-balance to what it sees as anti-Iranian efforts in the Middle East," Frans Cronje, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Yorktown Foundation for Freedom and a former head of the South African Institute of Race Relations told Fox News Digital. Cronje continued, "Africa has 1.5 billion people. Approximately a third of those are Muslim and make up a quarter of all Muslims worldwide, more than the number in the Middle East. Muslims serve as dominant groups across much of North Africa and down the African east coast." "The Iranian Africa strategy can be thought of as having three components," Cronje stated. "The first is the provision of training and material support to extremist groups in Africa to aid in the export of terror globally, and to target Christians and pro-Western communities on the continent, whilst creating a high-threat environment for Western investors. "To that end the global terror threat index scores for several African countries have come to exceed those of traditional Middle Eastern terror staples. Africa's Christians face increasing volumes of horrific attacks, including Christian church burnings and beheadings, and it has become common for Africa to account for the bulk of global terror-related deaths annually. "The second is to identify both Shia and Sunni communities that can be radicalized against the West as well as against Iranian opponents in the Arab world. Iran has employed Al-Mustafa academic and cultural centers in over 30 African countries to train clerics and religious leaders. "A third pillar of the strategy is that Iran has deepened diplomatic and economic cooperation ties with scores of African governments and business organizations to win trade and investment deals that help it evade global sanctions, as well as securing the diplomatic support of African governments on global fora such as the U.N., for measures ranging from its nuclear weapons program to its investment in proxy forces that threaten Israel. "For example," Cronje concluded, "just a few months ago, over 700 delegates from nearly 40 African countries attended an investment conference in Tehran." Summing up, the FDD's Taleblu said "the threat the Islamic Republic poses on the African continent is both significant and diverse. From seeking to export its revolution through religious indoctrination via state-linked religious seminaries, to drone sales, the world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism has not missed this opportunity to cause chaos while flying below the radar of the West."
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Churchgoers killed in DR Congo attack linked to Islamic State
Dozens of people have been killed in an attack by an Islamic State affiliate in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local officials say. About 20 of the dead were worshippers taking part in a night vigil at a church in the town of Komanda when they were attacked by Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) fighters, they say. Nearby shops and businesses were looted and set on fire. The ADF emerged in Uganda in the 1990s, accusing the government there of persecuting Muslims, but is now based over the border in DR Congo, where it regularly attacks civilians of all religions, as well as in Uganda. It has since become part of the Islamic State's Central African Province, which also includes a group in Mozambique. According to research by BBC Monitoring, nearly 90% of IS operations are now carried out by affiliates in Africa. Dieudonne Duranthabo, a civil society coordinator in Komanda, told the Associated Press that more bodies could be found after the latest attack. "More than 21 people were shot dead inside and outside [the church] and we have recorded at least three charred bodies and several houses burned. But the search is continuing." Father Aime Lokana Dhego, a local priest, told the AFP news agency: "We have at least 31 dead members of the Eucharistic Crusade movement, with six seriously injured. Some young people were kidnapped, we have no news of them." He added that seven other bodies had been found elsewhere in the town. The UN-sponsored Radio Okapi website put the number of dead at 43. A spokesperson for the army said he could confirm 10 deaths. In 2021, DR Congo invited Ugandan troops into the country to help tackle the ADF. Attacks however still continue. Komanda is in DR Congo's mineral-rich Ituri province, which has been fought over by various armed groups for many years. Find out more about the ADF: ADF: The Ugandan rebels working with IS in DR Congo Inside view of the IS-linked ADF rebels Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica BBC Africa podcasts Africa Daily Focus on Africa
