Tenderpreneur Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala has revealed that he pays each of his “personal protectors”, or bodyguards, R100,000 a month.
This bombshell was dropped during his two-day testimony before parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system.
The testimony was heard at the Kgosi Mampuru correctional centre in Pretoria on Wednesday and Thursday.
Facing questions from MPs, Matlala was specifically pressed on the size of his personal protection detail, the total expenditure, and the associated costs covering food, petrol and travel.
He said he employs about 12-14 personal protectors, further revealing the high-level expertise of his staff: one was formerly part of the task force, and eight others had been members of the special forces before they all joined his company, Cat VIP Protection.
“I paid them R100K a month each,” Matlala told the committee, adding that the total budget for his personal security detail amounts to a hefty R2m a month.
This revelation drew immediate reaction from EFF leader Julius Malema, who expressed alarm that former task team and special forces members were working for Matlala.
“That’s paramilitary,” Malema said. “It’s not VIP protection to have such dangerous, highest form of security in the country.”
Matlala’s testimony revealed another significant detail of an occasion when all 14 personal protectors accompanied him on a trip to Durban to hand over R200,000 in cash to former police minister Bheki Cele.
He said they drove him in different cars to facilitate the meeting with Cele. When questioned directly about whether any other politicians were on his payroll or provided services, Matlala maintained that Cele was the only politician he had ever provided VIP protection services to.
MPs asked how Matlala maintains his clearly expensive lifestyle and the sources of his significant income. He said his various businesses generated “legitimate” income for him, which funds his high-profile security and personal expenditure.
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