Caged 'Cat' may purr, claw

Parliamentarians are heading to Kgosi Mampuru Prison - not to inspect conditions, but to hear from Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, alleged underworld fixer and political middleman. It promises to be a surreal spectacle.

- Mandla Mthembu

However, if the latest revelations from the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry are anything to go by, the real scandal may not be what Matlala says, it could be about how many in police uniform already live in the shadows he's accused of navigating.

This week, retired Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) deputy chief Revo Spies dropped a bombshell: 275 EMPD officers were found to have criminal records in 2022, while 100 others were awaiting trial for serious offences, including murder, rape, robbery and fraud.

And instead of swift accountability, Spies faced obstruction from within: suspended deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi allegedly raged against the vetting process, refused to submit fingerprints for 211 officers and invoked the city manager to stop the process.

It's a damning portrait of a department where the badge is no longer a symbol of service, but a shield for impunity.