Major-General Senona refutes corruption claims at Madlanga Commission
Major-General Lesetja Senona vehemently denies corruption allegations during his testimony at the Madlanga Commission, asserting his integrity and distancing himself from alleged crime figure Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala.
Image: Oupa Mokoena /I ndependent Newspapers
Major-General Lesetja Senona, the head of the KwaZulu-Natal Hawks, has firmly rejected allegations that he aided alleged crime kingpin Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala in securing a R360 million contract for the Medicare 24 company.
He described these claims as "baseless and frivolous" during his testimony at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Tuesday.
In his statement, Senona dismissed evidence presented by Witness X and Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo, the head of crime intelligence, which implicated him in sharing sensitive police information with Matlala.
He further denied facilitating a property deal between Matlala and his son, Thato Senona, asserting that his relationship with Matlala was strictly social.
“I have no knowledge of the broader allegations of criminality surrounding the Medicare 24 tender. My knowledge is limited to the information Mr Matlala has shared with me and that which I have read in the media. I am aware that Medicare 24 was founded by Mr Matlala,” Senona said
He informed the commission that Matlala had told him his company stopped receiving purchase orders after winning a medical services contract with SAPS Pretoria College.
“I deny allegations that I have assisted Mr Matlala in securing the Medicare 24 tender,” he added
Senona explained that high-value tenders, such as the one Matlala's company bid on, are managed by the SAPS national office's supply management division, under the divisional commissioner of supply chain.
He also denied any lack of knowledge regarding the officials involved in the contract or the committee members who participated in the tender process.
“I, therefore, never received a kickback of any kind directly or indirectly from Mr Matlala for his securing of the tender,” he stated.
He recounted accompanying Matlala to a meeting with Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi on April 15, 2025, at Mkhwanazi's homestead. This meeting, organised by former Police Minister Bheki Cele, was described by Senona as a “morale support” meeting, although he clarified that Cele was not present.
Senona testified that the meeting began with casual conversation before Matlala and Mkhwanazi shifted their focus to payment issues. “I am not privy to all that was discussed as I was moving between the living room and the kitchen,” he noted.
He revealed that Mkhwanazi agreed to assist Matlala with purchase orders and offered to halt an investigation against Matlala related to the attempted murder case of his ex-girlfriend, Tebogo Thobejane, in exchange for information about Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya.
“The General offered me some drinks, and I drank because it was after hours,” he added, mentioning that he later received a series of threatening WhatsApp messages from Mkhwanazi.
Senona first met Matlala at his traditional wedding in Mamelodi, Pretoria, around 2018-2019, where they were introduced as businessmen and exchanged contact details. He described their interaction as casual and expressed that he liked Matlala, noting that they kept in touch.
He clarified that he and Matlala are not related, despite sharing the same surname, and he initially hesitated to comment on their familial connection to avoid potential family drama, as Matlala had previously dated a relative of his wife.
Senona explained that he only learned about his son Thato's business dealings with Matlala when Matlala informed him that Thato had approached him with a property venture proposal.
However, this business venture did not materialise, despite initial progress in 2025, which included plans to acquire a property in Pretoria.
Dismissing Witness X's evidence, Senona argued that it lacked concrete proof of a beneficial relationship between Matlala and himself, highlighting the use of vague language such as “seemingly”, “it appears to”, and “presumably” as insufficient for establishing factual evidence.
On the allegations of leaking sensitive police information to Matlala, he firmly stated, “I will never take information that is in the custody of the police and share it with any other person. I will not do that. It is not correct to do that and I will never do that. When I took office, I signed an oath. I will never do that.”
His testimony is ongoing.