Crime

MBABANE – The Home Affairs officer, who assisted Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala obtain an Eswatini ID, says she acted in good faith.

Matlala is the prominent South African businessman, who is accused of orchestrating a network of corruption, fraud and violence in the neighbouring country.

The Home Affairs officer stated that she never received payment from anyone for assisting Matlala in obtaining the Eswatini ID.

A Times of Eswatini investigating team managed to track down the officer and she agreed to an interview, although reluctantly.

During the interview, she was almost in tears as she narrated how then man she has recently come to know is Matlala, who was in the company of a relative, arrived at her workplace seeking assistance with obtaining a local ID.

She said she had no idea who he was and she was assisting him like any other emaSwati who stay in the Republic of South Africa and come back after sometime to obtain national documents, such as IDs from Home Affairs.

She said even though his accent had a blend of Zulu, it did not ring any bell because a number of emaSwati in the Shiselweni Region mostly speak some form of Zulu.

“I absolutely did not know who he was. So many emaSwati come from South Africa and ask for assistance to obtain these documents. I honestly thought he was one of those. How could I have known who he really was because I had never heard of him until now? Maybe the one who came with him knew who he was, but as for me, I honestly did not know anything, except that he was seeking assistance. I assisted him like any officer would have done. All I did was what any other officer could have done. There was nothing out of the ordinary in what I did to assist him,” she explained.

The officer stressed that she was assisting him genuinely, completely oblivious to who he really was.

“Nkosiyami, bengitsi ngiyasita mine. Bengingamati kutsi ungubani, waletfwa ngumuntfu losihlobo kimi (He was brought to me by a relative and I was simply trying to help),” the employee said.

She also emphasised that when she assisted the man, she was not paid any money and nobody had promised her any payment.

“I can show you my bank account. I did not receive anything nor was I paid for this. I was just helping as requested by the relative who came to me with him,” she said.

The officer insisted that she was allegedly approached by a relative, who asked her to assist Matlala, since he was known to him.

She pointed out that there was no way she could have verified Matlala’s true identity.

She also denied that other people were involved, insisting that Matlala and her relative came to her personally.

The officer further clarified that she was not the one who made a confession implicating others and that she told investigators the truth about her role without implicating anyone else.

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Matlala’s Eswatini ID key in his bail denial

MBABANE -   The possession of an Eswatini ID by Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala is now being used as the key ground to oppose his bail application in South Africa.

State prosecutor, Elize le Roux, has argued that Matlala’s fraudulent Eswatini ID makes him a significant flight risk. She contended that because Matlala has a second, illicit identity document, he could potentially use it to evade justice by fleeing across borders undetected.

It was further her averment that, the fraudulent Eswatini identity card, found as a photo on Matlala’s phone, is evidence that he is a flight risk. According to the State, the ID lists his name as Vusumuzi Dlamini and would enable him to cross the border between South Africa and Eswatini to evade justice.  The prosecution further alleged that Matlala used a secret cellphone while in custody and attempted to flush it down a toilet.

His legal team on the other hand, claims that police tampered with his confiscated devices and planted The ‘fraudulent’ Eswatini ID to frame him. In a bail affidavit read to the Alexandra Magistrates Court, Matlala’s lawyer, Laurence Hode, argued that his client’s continued detention is unjust, claiming it prevents him from running his businesses and supporting his nine children.

*Full article available in our publication.

The Home Affairs officer who assisted Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala (R) obtain an Eswatini ID says she acted in good faith. She denied that she received any payment for helping Matlala obtain an ID in Eswatini. (Pic: FIle)