Why Matlala and wife Tsakani wanted me killed - Thobejane

Businessman linked to Deokaran killing

- By Setumo Stone

Actress Tebogo Thobejane has provided a detailed witness statement implicating incarcerated businessman Vusi “Cat” Matlala in the killing of Babita Deokaran and his lawyer friend, who reported him to the South African Revenue Services (Sars) for tax woes.

The former Muvhango thespian also suggested in the statement that Matlala's wife, Tsakani Matlala, played a key role in a subsequent attempt on her life in October 2023.

In her statement, signed under oath on February 18, Thobejane claims that Matlala, a flamboyant businessman, had previously discussed orchestrating violent acts with her.

“He had sent hitmen out, and they missed, and the person was a woman,” she recounts.

Thobejane said she later connected this confession to the killing of Deokaran, a whistleblower associated with exposing corruption at Tembisa Hospital, after seeing Matlala and his business partner, Morgan Maumela, mentioned in news reports.

Thobejane alleges that it was Tsakani, leveraging her professional connections, who orchestrated the attempt on her life due to personal jealousy.

The tension, Thobejane suggests, stemmed from her closeness to Tsakani’s baby daddy, Kabelo.

“I suspect Tsakani to be the person behind the shooting, and since she is a CEO of CAT Security, she might have access to hitmen. I suspect that Serge Cabonge and Natasha might be the people who might have been spotting me and were in communication with the hitmen.”