Alleged crime kingpin Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala is expected to face even tougher questions when he returns to the Madlanga Commission on Tuesday after making explosive allegations about investigators who allegedly wanted him to implicate senior South African Police Service (SAPS) officials.

During his first day of testimony on Monday, the controversial businessman claimed that officials from the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) approached him while he was detained at the C-Max correctional facility in Kokstad, seeking his cooperation in building cases against senior police officers, including KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola.

Matlala alleged that investigators took him to the Sheraton Hotel and McDonald’s during their attempts to obtain information from him.

He told the commission that investigators had indicated that he was not their main target but that they wanted to get to other people within the police service.

“When they fetch me to court, they told me on my way to court that, listen, we are not actually after you. However, we need to arrest you so that we can get to the people that we want to pursue.

“I asked them who those people are. They mentioned General Masemola, General Mkhwanazi,” he testified.

Matlala also claimed that investigators served him with an arrest warrant as part of their efforts to secure his cooperation.

His allegations came as he challenged the contents of his failed plea-and-sentence agreement with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), claiming that certain information was inserted into the documents by IDAC officials without his consent.

The businessman maintained that the agreement, which was concluded in June, was entered into under duress and contained several inaccuracies.

His legal team, led by Advocate Annelene van den Heever, had earlier challenged the commission’s reliance on affidavits linked to the failed agreement, arguing that the Criminal Procedure Act protected Matlala against their use after the agreement collapsed.

However, commission chairperson Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga dismissed the application on Monday.

Madlanga ruled that section 105A(10) of the Criminal Procedure Act applied to criminal proceedings and did not prevent a commission of inquiry from relying on the statements.

He said the collapse or nullity of the plea agreement did not automatically make the statements inadmissible before the commission.

Matlala also made allegations about his interactions with suspended former deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya and his legal representative.

He claimed that Forbay, who represented Sibiya, pressured him to withhold information about his relationship with the former senior police officer when he testified before Parliament’s ad hoc committee.

According to Matlala, Forbay repeatedly advised him not to reveal everything he knew about Sibiya.

He further alleged that Forbay warned him that if he disclosed the full extent of his knowledge, Sibiya had threatened to kill his family.

Matlala also refused to answer questions from the commission’s evidence leader, Advocate Adila Hassim, about claims that his wife had informed him of threats allegedly made against her by Sibiya.

Sibiya is currently in custody in connection with separate cases and has been denied bail amid allegations that he threatened witnesses.

Another name that surfaced during Monday’s proceedings was that of Serge Cabonge.

Matlala told the commission that Cabonge fetched him from Cafe 41 and took him to a ministerial residence, where he allegedly met Sibiya and then deputy minister of public works and infrastructure Bernice Swarts, also known as “Berry”.

Matlala claimed that Sibiya had arranged the meeting with Swarts.

The commission also heard questions about the information Matlala had voluntarily provided to investigators.

When Commissioner Advocate Khumalo asked what information he had given the commission’s investigators, Matlala said he could not remember, explaining that he was undergoing psychiatric treatment at the time.

He further alleged that IDAC officials had booked him out of the correctional facility over the weekend without the knowledge of his attorneys and taken him to their offices.

His testimony comes amid intense scrutiny of alleged links between criminal networks, politically connected individuals and senior police officials.

The commission is expected to continue examining Matlala’s allegations and his dealings with police officers and other individuals whose names have emerged during the inquiry.

The allegations made by Matlala have not been established as fact, and those implicated must be afforded an opportunity to respond.

Matlala is expected back at the commission on Tuesday for further questioning.