'Cat' Matlala accuses magistrate of applying wrong rule in bail bid

'Incorrect burden of proof standard used'

- By Setumo Stone

Businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala has accused the magistrate who presided over his case in the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court of applying the wrong legal standard to deny him bail.

Matlala, who is behind bars at Kgosi Mampuru prison after being arrested for allegedly orchestrating the failed assassination of his ex-girlfriend, TV actress Tebogo Thobejane, among others, filed a notice of appeal in the Johannesburg High Court on Wednesday, alleging that Magistrate Syta Prinsloo erred in treating his bail application as a schedule 6 matter under the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA), instead of the less stringent schedule 5.

The crux of Matlala’s appeal lies in Prinsloo’s decision to impose the higher burden of proof required under schedule 6, which applies to offences, such as premeditated murder.

Matlala said both the prosecution and the defence had agreed during the bail proceedings that the charges against him fell under schedule 5.

Despite this consensus, he said, Prinsloo applied the onerous schedule 6 standard, requiring Matlala to prove the existence of “exceptional circumstances” justifying his release.