Evidence presented at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry has revealed that slain Gauteng Health official Babita Deokaran had red-flagged companies linked to businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala weeks before her assassination in 2021.
Deokaran, then a senior finance official in the Gauteng Health Department, compiled a detailed report highlighting more than R850 million in suspicious procurement linked to Tembisa Hospital. Her findings were read into the record by the commission’s evidence leader, who confirmed that several of the irregular contracts were associated with companies tied to Matlala.
The 2021 report identified hundreds of questionable transactions, including inflated invoices and purchases with little or no medical relevance. Among the examples cited were expenditures exceeding R500 000 for items unrelated to hospital operations. Companies such as Black AK Trading & Suppliers and Cor Kabeng Trading & Suppliers were specifically named in Deokaran’s analysis.
Her intervention prompted investigations by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the Hawks. Subsequent SIU reports indicate that the scale of corruption at Tembisa Hospital was far greater than initially detected. Since 2020, procurement syndicates are alleged to have looted more than R2 billion through manipulated contracts and payments. Investigators have so far identified over R1 billion in recoverable cash or assets as probes into implicated officials and service providers continue.
Deokaran was assassinated on 23 August 2021, just weeks after submitting her report. Her evidence has since become central to multiple investigations, as authorities examine links between Matlala-associated companies and the hospital’s irregular contracts while pursuing accountability and asset recovery.
