'Big Five' threatens to collapse SA's democracy

WHEN South Africans hear Big 5, we picture elephants, rhinos, lions, leopards, and buffalo, famous safari animals.

- NYANISO QWESHA

But a different “Big 5” has just emerged, thanks to testimony at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. Instead of pride and tourism, this new Big 5 brings fear, corruption, and violence.

The group called the Big 5 Cartel, allegedly led by Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and Katiso “KT” Molefe, doesn’t operate in a wildlife reserve. Instead, it operates across government tender boards, WhatsApp messages, and political circles.

Three other senior members remain unnamed, but evidence suggests their involvement in a network of crime stretching from Gauteng to KwaZulu-Natal and beyond.

According to Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo, head of SAPS Crime Intelligence, this isn’t your ordinary gang.

The cartel operates like a diversified company. Its product line? Drugs, tender fraud, contract killings, kidnappings, and hijackings. Its subsidiaries? Smaller syndicates, each with 10 to 12 members, specialising in their “commodity.” And to give it all a respectable gloss, they use legitimate businesses as fronts, especially private security companies, to launder money and move weapons. It’s essentially a crime with a corporate strategy.