The Commissioner of Police in KwaZulu-Natal, Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi, has revealed that Cat Matlala had unusual freedom and had a relationship with prison officials before he was caught with a mobile phone in Kgosi Mampuru C-Max Prison.
Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi testified before a temporary committee in Parliament, that Mr. Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala had unusual freedom inside the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Center in C-Max Ward, Pretoria. He said Matlala was very close to the head of the center and other officials. This allowed him to move and do things with ease.
“I will not explain part of the reasons why there is motivation for him to leave there but that is part of the problems we have faced,” said Mkhwanazi. The issues were also identified by the Prison Commissioner.
Mkhwanazi said Matlala was staying in the cell with two others. After his public speech, the Commissioner of Corrections, Makgothi Thobakgale, called him directly. The Commissioner sent trusted officers to search the cell because he suspected something was going on there. They found an illegal mobile phone, which the police later used during their investigation.
“The cell phone has helped us a lot to place the case where it is now,” Mkhwanazi told the committee.
He went on to say that there are still questions about how the cell phone came to Cat in the cell. The general said that the relationship he had with the leadership of the institution allowed Matlala to get whatever he wanted.