Bheki Cele Tells Parliament Crime Boss Matlala Used SAPS Tenders To Fund Senzo Mchunu’s ANC Campaign

Former Police Minister Bheki Cele has claimed that alleged crime boss Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala confessed to using the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) procurement systems to help fund Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s African National Congress (ANC) campaign.

Speaking before Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee on police corruption, Cele said Matlala, who held a lucrative multi-million-rand SAPS tender, personally informed him of the alleged misuse of police contracts.

Cele, who is continuing his testimony before the committee, also took issue with Mchunu’s decision to disband the Political Killings Task Team, a specialised unit formed to deal with politically motivated assassinations.

Cele Describes Durban Meeting with Matlala

Cele told MPs that he met Matlala at a luxury hotel in Durban in December last year, where the alleged kingpin revealed details about the funding scheme.

“Firstly, he said he has met Minister Mchunu, him and Brown Mogotsi, and they spoke about him because he’s got money through the tender to fund his project of becoming either a president or deputy president,” Cele recounted. “He didn’t, and myself, I didn’t know what project it was.”

Despite the meeting, Cele insisted he had no personal relationship with Matlala, stating emphatically that they were not friends.

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The Ad Hoc Committee continues to probe allegations of corruption within SAPS procurement processes, with both current and former senior officials under scrutiny.

Cele’s testimony has intensified attention on the alleged link between political funding and police tenders, a relationship critics say undermines integrity within law enforcement.

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