crime intelligence boss says proof was on his phone

Crime intelligence head Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo has testified that alleged underworld figure Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala holds dual citizenship, countering Matlala’s previous claims made under oath.

This revelation came during Khumalo’s appearance on Thursday before parliament’s ad hoc committee, which is investigating allegations of corruption within the criminal justice system.

During his testimony before the committee in November, Matlala denied possessing an Eswatini identity document or using the surname “Dlamini,” which was linked to the card in question. At the time, he claimed that the image of the document had been “planted” on his phone by investigators.

However, Khumalo told the committee that forensic analysis proved the ID was part of a personal conversation between Matlala and his wife.

“During the forensic analysis of Matlala’s cellphone, investigators found a picture of an Eswatini identity card in a chat between Mr. Matlala and his wife,” Khumalo said.

“In the exchange, Matlala requested his wife to: ‘Please send me my Swati ID, it’s in our chats. I deleted it by mistake from my side.’”

Khumalo noted that Matlala’s wife then sent the image to him, confirming that the document was in his possession long before the forensic team accessed the device.

Khumalo asserted that Matlala lied to both parliament and the courts regarding the ID and the alleged tampering with his phone.

“Matlala made a false statement in parliament by publicly denying having such an ID. The allegations that the information on his phones was tampered with — claims which appeared to be echoed by the deputy national commissioner and Idac head Andrea Johnson — are false and were made without any supporting evidence from a cyber expert.”

Khumalo revealed that authorities in Eswatini confirmed the ID was indeed issued to Matlala, though through highly irregular and “procedurally erroneous” means.

“The Eswatini authorities confirmed that Vusimuzi Dlamini is not a citizen of Eswatini by birth. They found that the personal identification number was created on 12 February 2024 and used to issue a national ID before a birth certificate was even registered,” Khumalo said.

The birth record was registered only eight days later, on 20 February 2024. This backward sequence — issuing an ID before a birth certificate — highlighted the fraudulent nature of the document.

Khumalo concluded by confirming that the investigation team had already arrested the individuals responsible for facilitating the issuance of the fraudulent ID to Matlala.