GAUTENG. – Four accused appeared on charges related to an alleged fraudulent rental agreement for a property in Waterkloof Heights in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court. Vusumuzi Matlala (50), who has appeared in court for several matters, his wife, Tsakani Matlala (38), Claudette Masethe (31) and Given Makofane (46), are standing trial on two counts of fraud, two of issuing a forged document and one of forgery.
Lumka Mahanjana, NPA regional spokesperson, says Vusumuzi Matlala is also charged with contravening the Identification Act. According to the NPA, the four accused allegedly acted with a common purpose during January 2025 by forging documents to obtain a rental agreement for the property through an estate agent. Furthermore, it is alleged that Matlala was unlawfully in possession of an ID issued in the name of Vusumuzi Dlamini between 13 and 21 January 2025, which allegedly purported to show that he was connected to the royal house of Eswatini, with the aim of obtaining the rental contract.
Matlala decided not to apply for bail, while the state did not oppose bail for the other three accused. Masethe, Makofane and Tsakani Matlala were each released on bail of R20 000, on conditions that they do not contact state witnesses, report to their nearest police station, hand over their passports to the investigating officer and inform the investigating officer if they wish to travel outside the province.
The state intends to oppose Vusumuzi Matlala's bail application when it is heard on 14 and 15 October. The case against the other three accused has been postponed for further investigation until 29 October.
Apart from this matter, Vusumuzi Matlala also appears in three other criminal cases. He and four co-accused are standing trial in the Johannesburg High Court on 25 counts related to three alleged shooting incidents between August 2022 and January 2024. Matlala is charged with, among other things, 11 counts of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, fraud and money laundering. He is also appearing with his companies in the Germiston Magistrate's Court on charges including corruption, fraud and defeating the ends of justice, relating to the alleged unlawful use of blue lights. In addition, he is standing trial in the Pretoria Regional Court in the Medicare24 corruption case over the alleged irregular SAPD contract of R228 million.
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
