{"id":34225,"date":"2025-10-20T18:00:36","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T16:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/?p=34225"},"modified":"2025-10-20T18:00:36","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T16:00:36","slug":"judgment-looms-in-cat-matlala-bail-appeal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/2025\/10\/20\/judgment-looms-in-cat-matlala-bail-appeal\/","title":{"rendered":"Judgment looms in \u2018Cat\u2019 Matlala bail appeal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-34233 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-09-08-at-17.10.15-770x645-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"706\" height=\"591\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-09-08-at-17.10.15-770x645-1.jpeg 770w, https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-09-08-at-17.10.15-770x645-1-768x643.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 706px) 100vw, 706px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Johannesburg High Court is expected to deliver judgment in controversial businessman, Vusimuzi \u201cCat\u201d Matlala\u2019s, bail appeal either on Friday or Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Matlala turned to the High Court on Monday after the Alexandra Magistrates\u2019 Court denied him bail last month, citing concerns that he might flee or interfere with witnesses.<\/p>\n<p>The 49-year-old tenderpreneur is accused of orchestrating the failed assassination of his former girlfriend, media personality Tebogo Thobejane, in 2023 \u2014 a shooting that left Thobejane wounded in the foot and her friend with a serious spinal injury.<\/p>\n<p>Matlala has denied all allegations.<\/p>\n<p>A packed courtroom gathered on Monday as both sides argued over whether he should be granted bail. The State maintained that Matlala remains a flight risk, while his lawyer, Laurence Hodes, insisted that he has cooperated fully with police since December 2024 \u2014 even allowing them full access to his property.<\/p>\n<p>Hodes also dismissed State claims that Matlala owns a private jet and a boat, calling the allegations baseless and unproven.<\/p>\n\t<div class=\"qtmplayer-playlist-large\">\n\t\t<ul class=\"qtmplayer-playlist\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"qtmplayer-trackitem qtmplayer-track-inpage\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-09-08-at-17.10.15-770x645-1-100x100.jpeg\" alt=\"cover\">\t\t<span \t\t\tdata-qtmplayer-cover=\"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-09-08-at-17.10.15-770x645-1-370x370.jpeg\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-qtmplayer-file=\"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AUD-20251020-WA0012.mp3\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-qtmplayer-title=\"Judgment looms in \u2018Cat\u2019 Matlala bail appeal\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-qtmplayer-artist=\"| By X9 Converter\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-qtmplayer-link=\"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/2025\/10\/20\/judgment-looms-in-cat-matlala-bail-appeal\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-qtmplayer-icon=\"file_download\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-qtmplayer-type=\"track\"\n\t\t\t class=\"qtmplayer-play qtmplayer-link-sec qtmplayer-play-btn\"><i class='material-icons' aria-label=\"Play\">play_arrow<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"qtmplayer-tit\">Judgment looms in \u2018Cat\u2019 Matlala bail appeal<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"qtmplayer-art\">| By X9 Converter<\/span>\n\t\t<\/p>\n\t<\/li>\n\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\t\t\t\n\t\n<p>Meanwhile, the State has conceded that its case against, Vusimuzi \u201cCat\u201d Matlala, currently rests on circumstantial evidence \u2014 but stressed that ongoing investigations and the centralisation of several related dockets could strengthen their case.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors revealed that it intends to charge Matlala with 11 counts of attempted murder once the cases are centralised.<\/p>\n<p>These include the January 2024 Pretoria West shooting of DJ Vettys, which carries three attempted murder charges, and a 2022 Lyttelton case linked to the killing of taxi boss Joe Sibanyoni, which carries five more counts. Sibanyoni was gunned down outside Centurion Golf Estate.<\/p>\n<p>The State told the court that it is awaiting final authorisation from the National Director of Public Prosecutions before proceeding.<\/p>\n<p>State Prosecutor, Elize Le Roux, argued argued that Matlala\u2019s failure to disclose foreign assets and alleged efforts to mislead investigators show he is not a suitable candidate for bail.<\/p>\n\t<div class=\"qtmplayer-playlist-large\">\n\t\t<ul class=\"qtmplayer-playlist\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"qtmplayer-trackitem qtmplayer-track-inpage\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-09-08-at-17.10.15-770x645-1-100x100.jpeg\" alt=\"cover\">\t\t<span \t\t\tdata-qtmplayer-cover=\"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-09-08-at-17.10.15-770x645-1-370x370.jpeg\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-qtmplayer-file=\"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AUD-20251020-WA0013.mp3\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-qtmplayer-title=\"Judgment looms in \u2018Cat\u2019 Matlala bail appeal\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-qtmplayer-artist=\"| By X9 Converter\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-qtmplayer-link=\"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/2025\/10\/20\/judgment-looms-in-cat-matlala-bail-appeal\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-qtmplayer-icon=\"file_download\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-qtmplayer-type=\"track\"\n\t\t\t class=\"qtmplayer-play qtmplayer-link-sec qtmplayer-play-btn\"><i class='material-icons' aria-label=\"Play\">play_arrow<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"qtmplayer-tit\">Judgment looms in \u2018Cat\u2019 Matlala bail appeal<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"qtmplayer-art\">| By X9 Converter<\/span>\n\t\t<\/p>\n\t<\/li>\n\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\t\t\t\n\t\n<p>Le Roux also confirmed that police conducted a warrantless search and seizure at Matlala\u2019s home in December 2024, after intelligence suggested a kidnapping victim might be held there. No victim was found, but firearms were confiscated after it emerged that some of Matlala\u2019s bodyguards were unlicensed.<\/p>\n<p>Matlala\u2019s legal team has since proposed R100,000 bail, suggesting that he be placed under house arrest and grant police full access to his home surveillance cameras as part of his bail conditions.<\/p>\n<p>They also recommended that he be restricted from leaving Gauteng.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the State\u2019s opposition, defence lawyer Laurence Hodes argued that Matlala is being unfairly targeted, insisting the allegations are based on speculation rather than fact.<\/p>\n<p>The Johannesburg High Court has confirmed that its judgment will be delivered electronically \u2014 not in open court \u2014 later this week.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Written by: Lebohang Ndashe<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Johannesburg High Court is expected to deliver judgment in controversial businessman, Vusimuzi \u201cCat\u201d Matlala\u2019s, bail appeal either on Friday or Monday. Matlala turned to the High Court on Monday after the Alexandra Magistrates\u2019 Court denied him bail last month, citing concerns that he might flee or interfere with witnesses. ...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":34233,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1646,1645,1214,1643,1644,1647,1188],"class_list":["post-34225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-attempted-murder-charges","tag-dj-vettys-joe-sibanyoni","tag-johannesburg-high-court","tag-matlala-bail-appeal","tag-tebogo-thobajane-shooting","tag-tsakane-matlala","tag-vusimuzi-cat-matlala"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-09-08-at-17.10.15-770x645-1.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34225"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34234,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34225\/revisions\/34234"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}