Madlanga Commission | Carrim grilled over dealings with Matlala and Maumela

Controversial North West businessman, Suleiman Carrim, says he had never met Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala before the latter allegedly approached him for a loan to finance operations linked to his SAPS Medicare 24 tender in 2024.

Carrim is testied before the Madlanga Commission on Tuesday, that his dealings with Matlala were, at the time, purely commercial and that it was the first time he had engaged with him in business.

He claims Matlala initially contacted personnel at one of his security companies, Fusion Tactical Team, through the company’s website and requested Carrim’s contact details.

The commission also heard that Carrim did not enter into any formal contractual agreement or put security measures in place for the R10 million loan he claims to have provided to Matlala.

It was further revealed that Carrim expected to receive 10% of the earnings from Matlala’s tender – an arrangement he says both parties had agreed to.

The commission also raised concerns that, on several occasions, Carrim transferred portions of money related to Matlala’s dealings to Morgan Maumela, a businessman linked to the R2.3 billion Tembisa Hospital corruption scandal.

Carrim insisted the payments did not reflect a suspicious relationship between the three men, saying he made the transfers at Matlala’s request.

Carrim further told the commission that Maumela refused to introduce him to Matlala.

He also claimed that he was unaware of Matlala and Maumela’s alleged involvement in the R2.3 billion Tembisa Hospital corruption case, although he acknowledged seeing media reports about the scandal.

The corruption scandal at the hospital came to light after tender irregularities were flagged by whistleblower, Babita Deokharan, who was assassinated in 2021.

Carrim testified that in March last year he received R13 million from Matlala, who allegedly instructed him to transfer a portion of the funds to Maumela.

When questioned about why he allowed himself to be used as an intermediary between the two men, Carrim said he never received a clear explanation.

He said he eventually complied with the request despite his concerns because he wanted to keep Matlala “happy”, as Matlala still owed him money.

Meanwhile, proceedings briefly turned heated earlier in the day after Carrim’s legal team accused the commission of unfairly criticising their client.

Within minutes of Tuesday’s proceedings beginning, Carrim’s legal counsel argued that the commission was probing business dealings that had not previously been indicated as part of the inquiry.

One of Carrim’s attorneys, Advocate Rafiq Barnard, told the commission it was unfair to suggest that Carrim had withheld information and accused the inquiry of prejudging his client.

Barnard requested a two-hour adjournment to allow the legal team to assess what they described as new areas of questioning.

Justice Madlanga strongly rejected the allegation that the commission had prejudged the matter.

Carrim will return to the stand on 16 April.

Written by: Odirile Rabalao