‘Pure hearsay’: Cat Matlala’s lawyer attacks State’s evidence

Attorney Annalene van den Heever, representing Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, argues that evidence relied on by police to arrest co-accused Musa Kekana is inadmissible during proceedings in the High Court in Johannesburg. The lawyer for alleged crime boss Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala has told the Johannesburg High Court that evidence presented by Tactical Response Team (TRT)Captain Alfred Phimi Sekgobeladuring cross-examination about the arrest of accused number one Musa Kekana, is “pure hearsay” and should not be admissible. The argument was made by Matlala’s attorney, Annalene van den Heever on Monday as Sekgobela continued testimony in the trial within a trial.

The proceedings are focused on determining whether evidence obtained following Kekana’s arrest on April 17, 2024, is admissible. Sekgobela has been detailing the sequence of events that led to Kekana’s arrest hours after the fatal shooting of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart, who was killed in a case of mistaken identity. Kekana, Matlala, Tiego Floyd Mabusela, Tsakani Matlala andNthabiseng Zandile Nzama,daughter of Mabusela face charges including attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, fraud, money laundering, and the unlawful possession of prohibited firearms and ammunition. The charges relate to the alleged attempted murders of businessman Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni and five others, media personality Tebogo Thobejane and three others, and musician DJ Vettys and two others.