Advocate Baloyi pressing Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala over the nature of his dealings with businessman Mr Mswazi.
Baloyi put it to Matlala that the evidence before the Commission — including WhatsApp exchanges, payment notifications, discussions about the purchase of a jet, a proposed lounge business and vehicle dealings — suggested that their relationship went beyond the ordinary VIP protection services Matlala had initially described.
Baloyi: “You had other dealings with Mr Mswazi. You tried to get into a business venture to buy a plane together. That’s your testimony, right?”
Matlala: “Yes.”
Baloyi then pointed to payment notifications that Matlala had allegedly forwarded to Mswazi, saying those transactions had nothing to do with Matlala providing security services.
Baloyi: “The only point I’m making is you were not just a security provider to him. You had other interactions with him that had nothing to do with your services as a service provider for protection services.”
Matlala pushed back on the Commissioner’s characterisation of the relationship, saying his understanding of what constitutes a “relationship” was different.
Matlala: “I cannot say because I called him, or he borrowed me a speedboat, or I sent him a WhatsApp, then we have more than a relationship.”
Baloyi clarified that she was not necessarily asking Matlala to describe Mswazi as a friend, but rather to acknowledge that there were dealings between the two men outside security work.
Baloyi: “Forget relationship. You had other dealings with him.”
Matlala eventually agreed.
Matlala: “Yes, dealings I had, yes.”
Baloyi then returned to the attempted aircraft purchase, with Matlala acknowledging that the two had tried to do a business deal involving an aircraft.
Baloyi: “You tried to do a business deal with him.”
Matlala: “Yes.”
Baloyi: “So that is a deal.”
Matlala: “Yes.”
The key issue emerging from the questioning is not necessarily whether Matlala considered Mswazi a friend, but whether his dealings with him extended beyond the VIP protection services he initially presented as the basis of their association
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