By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The underworld kingpin Vusimusi ‘Cat’ Matlala has declined the plea deal offered by the court, resulting in his prior agreement with the state being nullified.
Matlala entered into a plea agreement with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and was placed on record.
Matlala appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Monday, where his lawyer confirmed that he would not accept the court’s proposed sentence, effectively nullifying the plea agreement.
Matlala stands accused of playing a central role in irregularities surrounding a controversial multi-million-rand SAPS tender awarded to his company, Medicare24 Tshwane District.
The contract has been mired in allegations of corruption, fraud and improper influence.
Last week, Magistrate Ignatius Du Preez rejected the agreement, under which Matlala had pleaded guilty to corruption, fraud and money laundering linked to a R228 million South African Police Service (SAPS) health services contract awarded to his company, Medicare24 Tshwane District.
As part of the deal, Matlala had agreed to testify as a state witness for the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC).
The court found the proposed sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, with seven years suspended, to be too lenient as it would have resulted in Matlala serving only eight years behind bars.
Under the sentence Du Preez proposed, Matlala would be jailed for 15 years for fraud, with seven suspended, and handed 10 years each for the corruption and money-laundering counts, of which eight years would run concurrently with the fraud sentence.
With the plea agreement now abandoned, sentencing has fallen away and the matter has been postponed to 11 September, when the corruption, fraud and money laundering case linked to the high-profile Medicare24 tender is expected to proceed to trial.
NPA spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago says that now that the plea agreement negotiations with Matlala are off the table, IDAC will proceed with its case and gather more evidence before his next court appearance.