The first witness in the trial of alleged underworld figure Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala faced a sustained attack on his credibility on Tuesday, as defence counsel confronted him with what they said were material contradictions between his sworn statements.
Bethwell Mzamo Cele, a former Bidvest security officer, had earlier told the Johannesburg High Court how he returned fire on three AK-47-wielding attackers during a shooting on 10 August 2022, one of the incidents behind the attempted-murder charges against accused 1, 2 and 3.
Under cross-examination by Advocate Riaan Gissing, Cele confirmed he had deposed three affidavits: two in August 2022, and a third in June 2025, after an investigator approached him for further information.
Gissing put at least two discrepancies to the witness.
Where Cele’s first statement said all three occupants of the attackers’ BMW had climbed out, his second referred to only two.
On the timing of the attack, Gissin noted, one statement said Cele could not know the time because cellphones were not permitted on duty, while another recorded the incident as having happened at 22:35.
Cele maintained that his affidavits were not contradictory.
He told the court that one statement had been written by someone else otherwise he was happy with the contents of the statement.
He also noted that dates on one statement appeared to have been altered.
Gissing was blunt, putting it to the witness that he was ‘not honest’. The State rejected this characterisation and Gissing withdrew his statement. But he still maintained that Cele materially contradicted himself.
Earlier in the cross-examination, Cele described the aftermath of the shooting.
He booked his firearm into a safe, and police later removed it for ballistic testing.
The white BMW had driven off, he said, though he was unsure of its make. No one was killed.
He told the court he showed officers where he had been lying and firing from, but left the spent cartridges for ballistic experts to deal with.
The session grew tense over Cele’s demeanour.
This after the defence counsel, Advocate Timothy Chauke objected to a remark , ‘Akudokwe eligayelwe mina,’ (translated as it’s none of my business), regarding the collection of cartridges.
He told the court that police had questioned him at the scene about whether he wore a bulletproof vest and how many rounds he had fired.
“I told them I spent 15 bullets,” he said.
He told the Court that he had taken some images from the crime scene including the cover of a side mirror and broken glass. However the phone holding the images was later lost.
According to Cele the entire incident lasted about five or six minutes. He said he believed he had struck one of the attackers, whom he heard screaming as the group fled.
Matlala and his co-accused, Musa Kekana, Tiego Floyd Mabusela, Tsakani Matlala and Nthabiseng Nzama, face 25 charges, including 11 counts of attempted murder linked to three shootings allegedly committed between August 2022 and January 2024. All five pleaded not guilty.
Cele will continue with his testimony when the trial resumes tomorrow, Wednesday.
