SAPs Brigadier Rachel Matjeng Denies BBL Claims, Tells Madlanga Commission She Only Asked For Ozempic

A senior South African Police Service (SAPS) official has firmly dismissed allegations that she underwent a Brazilian butt lift (BBL), telling the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry that her only request to controversial businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala was for the weight-loss drug Ozempic.

Brigadier Rachel Matjeng, who works in SAPS’ forensic services division, returned to the commission on Friday as it probes criminality, political interference and corruption within the criminal justice system.

She oversees criminal records and crime scene management and was flagged in the commission’s interim report for further investigation.

Matjeng previously played an oversight role in the rollout of a R360 million SAPS contract awarded in June 2024 to Medicare24 Tshwane District, a healthcare company linked to Matlala. The contract was cancelled in May 2025 after R48 million had already been paid out.

SAPS Tender Oversight and Rachel Matjeng’s Disputed Payments

During earlier testimony, evidence showed that Matlala made several payments to Matjeng. She rejected claims that these were connected to the tender, instead describing them as personal transfers linked to what she called an on-and-off romantic relationship with the tenderpreneur.

Continuing her evidence on Friday, Matjeng was questioned about WhatsApp messages exchanged with Matlala in February 2025. In those messages, Matlala asked her for a code that would allow him to submit claims for non-arrival fees.

She explained that Matlala wanted to claim for 337 police officers who had failed to attend scheduled medical surveillance appointments out of 553 bookings.

Matjeng said she intervened by arranging additional appointments for officers who had missed the original sessions, arguing this was done to limit fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

According to her testimony, 105 officers attended the rescheduled appointments, reducing the number of non-arrivals to 215. A further round of bookings in September 2024 lowered the figure to 144.

“I wanted to reduce the wasteful expenditure so it can be less with Medicare,” she told the commission.

Matjeng said she did not understand why Matlala needed the code and later sent him a list of the remaining 144 officers after learning he intended to claim for 337 missed appointments. She described Matlala as inexperienced and in need of guidance.

“What I did by sending him the list, I’m actually saving the organisation. Otherwise he could have claimed for more than 300,” she said, adding that Matlala ultimately did not submit a claim for the 144 non-arrivals.

Commissioner Sesi Baloyi questioned why Matjeng involved herself, noting she was not the contract manager and that SAPS systems should have flagged any inflated claims.

“The Saps system would have picked it up and said to him ‘you are only entitled to claim for 140’,” Baloyi said.

Matjeng acknowledged the existence of internal controls but maintained they were imperfect. “They do have a system, but sometimes you will have administration flaws,” she responded.

‘No BBL, Just Ozempic’ Explanation to the Commission

The inquiry also scrutinised messages sent on 3 March 2025, in which Matjeng asked Matlala to buy her Ozempic, a medication primarily prescribed for diabetes but widely used for weight loss.

Matlala replied that the R4 500 price tag was “hectic”.

Matjeng told the commission she approached Matlala “as a boyfriend” because she was struggling to obtain the medication despite having a valid prescription. She said she requested three pens and uses the drug “the normal way”.

Addressing speculation linking the request to cosmetic surgery, Matjeng denied ever undergoing a BBL.

“I’m just explaining because I was told that Ozempic will go hand in hand with BBL and those I’m seeing at work who did the BBL, they also use Ozempic.

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“So for me, from my boyfriend, I only ask for Ozempic, unlike those that ask for BBL,” she said.

She added that a BBL typically costs between R70 000 and R80 000. “If I had asked him for a BBL, he was going to finance it.”

Matjeng said she felt compelled to clarify the issue after social media users accused her of having cosmetic surgery.

“So, I’m just saying no, I did not get the BBL.”