The dark side of networking, influence and access to power

Whenever I go to some kind of business event, I feel a sense of anticipation ahead of the inevitable “networking”.

- Stephen Grootes

I think it’s human to anticipate meeting new people with interests similar to yours. But it’s also about the anticipation of new professional relationships that can lead to more business (or money, frankly).

And I often wonder how close we can get to people with whom we're involved in business.

Last week, listening to the way KwaZulu-Natal Hawks head Major General Lesetja Senona came to know Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala was fascinating.

He said he met him at a wedding, and that it was his “humble nature” that attracted him to Matlala. Before he knew it, he was like “my brother”, and Senona’s son was doing business with Matlala.

Something similar happened with the suspended head of the Metro police in Ekurhuleni, Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi.

Clearly Matlala was good at making other men feel that they were like “brothers”. He reminds me a lot of Jeffrey Epstein.