A high-profile attempted murder trial degenerated into volatile chaos at the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Tuesday afternoon, 8 September 2026, when law enforcement officers clashed with the accused, prompting a physical and verbal altercation in the middle of the courtroom.
The disruption erupted immediately after Judge Cassim Moosa adjourned the day’s proceedings early. Members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) moved aggressively to herd the accused back into the holding cells. In doing so, security officials effectively blocked the defendants from speaking with their legal teams, a move that sparked immediate outrage from the dock.
Amid the mounting tension, alleged underworld figure Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala became visibly enraged. In a striking display of aggression captured by onlookers, Matlala engaged in a heated dispute with his own defence counsel, at one point physically grabbing his lawyer’s hands while loudly expressing frustration over his representation and the sudden lack of trial consultation. Concurrently, co-accused Musa Kekana became embroiled in a separate physical scuffle with a police sergeant and transit officials as guards forced the group from the room.
The security lockdown followed a pivotal moment in the trial-within-a-trial, where Judge Moosa officially ruled that bail affidavits submitted by Kekana in a separate 2024 murder case are admissible as evidence. The defense had simultaneously introduced late evidence regarding police vehicle-tracking data, forcing a brief postponement of the main trial to Thursday, 10 September.
Following the courtroom melee, Judge Moosa issued a formal reprimand and directive. The court ruled that police and task team members cannot block the accused from speaking with their legal counsel, mandating that the defense must be granted full consulting privileges on days when court is dismissed early.
Matlala, along with his wife Tsakani and co-defendants Musa Kekana, Tiego Floyd Mabusela, and Nthabiseng Nzama, are facing 25 criminal counts.
The state alleges they orchestrated multiple assassination plots between 2022 and 2024, including a botched 2023 hit targeting Matlala’s former partner, actress Tebogo Thobejane, as well as separate conspiracies against taxi boss Joe Sibanyoni and music producer DJ Vettys.