MADLANGA COMMISSION: Visits to alleged Big Five cartel boss cemented Carrim, Matlala business ties

While organised crime-accused Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala has told the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry some details about his dealings with various police officers and controversial people, he has also held back, saying he does not want to incriminate himself.

Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala told the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Monday, 17 August 2026, that he became close to controversial ANC-linked North West businessman Suliman Carrim because they both visited the late taxi boss Jothan Msibi.

Some police officers have alleged that ahead of his death in 2024, Msibi was the head of a cartel known as the Big Five, which they have said is involved in criminality ranging from illicit drugs to cash-in-transit heists and which has infiltrated the state, politics and private sector.

Matlala’s testimony on Monday on Carrim, from whom he also said he secured a R15-million loan, now indirectly links the North West businessman to those gritty allegations.

MADLANGA COMMISSION | Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala confirms he knows Suliman Carrim and says he approached him to request funding for his company, Medicare 24 Tshwane. pic.twitter.com/zTVyKsuFIG

It was Matlala’s first testimony in the witness seat at the Madlanga Commission, and the proceedings focused on his connections to, and interactions with, various police officers and controversial people.

While he provided several responses to questions during Monday’s proceedings, he also repeatedly said: “I do not want to incriminate myself.”

Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala: business ties to the security and health sector, but now facing various criminal charges and accusations that he is a member of a cartel known as the Big Five, and has corrupt relationships with certain police officers.

Jothan Msibi: one of the country’s foremost taxi bosses who allegedly headed the Big Five cartel before he died in 2024.

Suliman Carrim: an ANC-linked businessman from North West whose connections and companies have come under scrutiny. He loaned money to Matlala who said Carrim, like him, used to visit Msibi.

Matlala used this line several times, trying to assert his privilege against self-incrimination.

At one point, evidence leader advocate Mahlape Sello appeared to be fed up when Matlala repeated the line, telling him: “This fear of self-incrimination has limits in law and life.”

Despite his stance against self-incrimination, Matlala came across as self-assured throughout his long-anticipated testimony.

At times he corrected or interrupted Sello when he felt she was not accurately referencing details or when he was unsure of certain aspects she was addressing.