AK-47
Johannesburg – Police have confirmed that an AK-47 rifle and two pistols seized from alleged hitmen tied to controversial businessman Vusi “Cat” Matlala are linked to 18 serious crimes, including the murders of DJ Sumbody and engineer Amand Swart, as Matlala was denied bail in the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday in the 2023 attempted murder case of his ex-girlfriend, actress Tebogo Thobejane.
The bombshell revelation, shared by national police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe during Matlala’s bail hearing, paints a chilling picture of a gun-for-hire syndicate allegedly masterminded by the 48-year-old tender tycoon. While the firearm used in Thobejane’s Sandton shooting remains missing, ballistics experts have matched the seized AK-47 to a string of high-profile hits and botched attempts, from the 2022 ambush that killed beloved DJ Sumbody and his two bodyguards on the N1 highway near Midrand, to the cold-blooded slaying of Vereeniging engineer Amand Swart in a suspected contract killing.
Mathe laid it out plainly: “We have linked the attempted murder to that one AK-47 that can also be linked to the Swart case, the DJ Sumbody and his two bodyguards case, the Don Tindleni murder, as well as the DJ Vinto’s murder. So we now know that that AK-47 was also used in the attempted murder of Joe Sibanyoni.” This deadly trail doesn’t stop there – the weapons have fingerprints in 18 cases total, spanning murders, attempted hits, and taxi industry turf wars that have bloodied Gauteng streets for years.
Matlala, a flashy figure known for his luxury cars and high-rolling deals in construction and events, sat stone-faced in the dock as Magistrate Nthabiseng Selepe shot down his freedom bid. Accused of plotting the hit on Thobejane – who was left fighting for her life after six bullets riddled her Range Rover in a brazen daylight attack – the businessman faces a laundry list of charges: conspiracy to commit murder, three counts of attempted murder, money laundering, and illegal possession of firearms and ammo. His co-accused, including alleged syndicate kingpins Katiso Molefe, Musa Kekana, and Floyd Mabusela, are in the same boat, staring down multiple murder raps and unlicensed gun hauls. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has vowed to fight any appeal, calling Matlala a “clear danger to the community” and a flight risk thanks to a fraudulent Eswatini identity document unearthed by sleuths.
A Tender Tycoon’s Dark Web: From Rags to Riches to Reckoning
Vusi “Cat” Matlala’s story reads like a rags-to-riches thriller gone wrong. Born in Soweto in the 1970s, he clawed his way up from humble beginnings to build a business empire through savvy tender wins in government contracts for roads, events, and logistics. By his 30s, he was a name in Gauteng’s black business elite, rubbing shoulders with politicians and flaunting a fleet of Bentleys and a sprawling Sandton mansion. But whispers of dirt trailed him – from dodgy deals in the taxi industry, where he allegedly brokered peace pacts laced with threats, to fraud probes that fizzled out under murky circumstances. Insiders say his nickname “Cat” comes from nine lives in court, dodging bullets both literal and legal.
The Thobejane saga exploded in October 2023, when the Muvhango star, then 35, was ambushed at a Sandton traffic light. Witnesses heard 10 shots ring out; she took six in the arm, leg, and torso, crashing her SUV into a wall before stumbling out, bloodied but alive. Thobejane, who dated Matlala on and off for years, later told friends it stemmed from a bitter breakup over his alleged cheating. Police pounced in July 2025 after a tip-off led to the arrests of Kekana and Mabusela – low-level enforcers caught with the arsenal in a Roodepoort safe house. Ballistics tied the haul to Matlala’s orbit, with phone pings and witness whispers sealing the link. Matlala, nabbed shortly after, cried foul in court: “I’m shocked to be singled out in Tebogo Thobejane’s attempted murder case,” he protested during his September 2 appearance, claiming cops framed him to settle old scores.
But the net widened fast. Matlala now faces charges in three botched hits: Thobejane’s 2023 ordeal, a 2022 ambush on taxi boss Joe Sibanyoni in Centurion – where the AK-47 sprayed bullets into his armoured bakkie – and a foiled attempt on DJ Getty in an unrelated club beef. The syndicate angle? Prosecutors paint Molefe as the money man, funneling cash through shell companies for hits that cleared rivals in construction bids and taxi routes. Kekana and Mabusela, per affidavits, were the triggermen, with the AK-47 – a Soviet relic smuggled via illicit networks – as their go-to tool. One pistol traces to the 2024 murder of promoter Don Tindleni, gunned down in a Joburg parking lot over a disputed event tender; the other to DJ Vinto’s 2023 execution outside a Soweto gig.
DJ Sumbody’s Ghost: How One Bullet Ties a Trail of Blood
Oupa Sefoka, better known as DJ Sumbody, was the heartbeat of amapiano – his track “Ke Star” still blasts at weddings nationwide. On May 20, 2022, the 28-year-old was riding high, heading home from a gig with bodyguards Thabo Mathlaku and Thabo Dlamini, when a hail of AK-47 fire shredded their Mercedes on the N1. All three died at the scene, their deaths a gut punch to the music scene and a stark reminder of Gauteng’s underbelly, where hits settle scores in the R100 billion taxi and entertainment wars. Police initially pegged it as a robbery gone wrong, but ballistics now scream syndicate: the same AK-47 riddled Swart, a 45-year-old engineer whacked in Vereeniging over a bridge contract dispute, his body dumped in a ditch.
These links aren’t coincidence – they’re the fruit of a July 2025 bust where Hawks raided a Benoni stash house, nabbing the weapons after a tip from a turned informant. Mathe, the police mouthpiece, dropped the update mid-hearing: the AK-47’s barrel etchings match casings from 18 scenes, from Soweto shebeens to Centurion boardrooms. Sibanyoni, a taxi heavyweight, survived his 2022 hit by sheer luck – the rifle jammed after three rounds, giving him time to floor it. “This one gun has spilled so much blood,” Mathe said, her voice steady but eyes grave. For families like Sumbody’s – who buried their son amid tributes from Black Coffee and Kabza De Small – it’s cold comfort, but a step towards closure.
Court Drama: Bail Denied, Flight Risk Looms
Wednesday’s hearing was pure theatre. Matlala, suited up but shackled, argued he’d complied with all summons since his July arrest, vowing no flight despite that Eswatini ID – a bogus passport bought for R50,000, per state sleuths, to dodge SA heat. His lawyer pleaded: “He’s a father of three, a job creator with legit businesses.” But the state countered hard: witness intimidation reports, including threats to Thobejane’s kin, plus Matlala’s alleged ties to cops like suspended Minister Senzo Mchunu, who once sang his praises at a 2023 gala. Selepe wasn’t buying: “You’re a flight risk and a danger,” she ruled, remanding him to Johannesburg Correctional Centre till October 15 for trial prep.
Co-accused Molefe, the alleged financier with a fleet of luxury whips, sat silent; Kekana and Mabusela, the muscle, face separate dockets for the Sumbody hit. The NPA’s Athi Ncube vowed: “We’ll oppose any appeal – this syndicate ends here.” Thobejane, now 37 and healing with therapy and advocacy for women in abusive ties, skipped court but issued a statement: “Justice for one is justice for all these victims.”
The Bigger Shadow: Taxi Wars, Tenders, and a City on Edge
Matlala’s web touches SA’s sore spots: the taxi industry’s R50 billion empire, riddled with 500 murders yearly, and tender fraud that bleeds municipalities dry. His alleged plays – muscling into routes via hits on bosses like Sibanyoni – echo the 2023 taxi summit where peace pacts crumbled under violence. Entertainment’s no safer: Sumbody’s death spotlighted how promoters clash over gigs, with Vinto’s killing tied to a rival DJ beef. For Gauteng’s underclass, it’s personal – jobs lost to fear, families shattered.
As October looms, the case could crack open more. With 18 lives hanging on that AK-47’s ghosts, Matlala’s nine lives might finally run out. For Thobejane, Sumbody’s mom, and Sibanyoni’s kin, it’s not revenge – it’s reckoning. In a country weary of crime bosses in suits, this trial’s a litmus test: can justice outgun the syndicate?
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