Matlala may now be a central figure, but he only came to public prominence three years ago when his name was mentioned in news reports around alleged tender irregularities at a state hospital – though he said he had nothing to do with the tender.

What little is known about his early life is based on what he told parliament last year.

He was born in 1976, when South Africa was still run by a white-minority government, and grew up in a township east of the capital, Pretoria.

He told lawmakers that he was for a time raised by a single mother, who he said then “disappeared on me”.

“I had to raise myself. I was actually a street kid,” he told lawmakers.

He eventually reunited with his mother in 2002, when she was terminally ill.

After she died, Matlala learned that she had been sexually assaulted, which he said was because of her albinism. Myths surround the condition include people believing that having sex with a woman with the condition would cure the men of illness.

After leaving school, he said he started an informal business to make ends meet, which led to various brushes with the law.

In 2001, he was convicted and served time in prison for the possession of stolen goods.

Over the years, he would be arrested for a string of crimes, including house robberies, a cash-in-transit heist and assault. He denied involvement in them all and was either acquitted or had the charges withdrawn against him.

He told the parliamentary committee that his nickname “Cat” was not, as some had suggested, down to his “nine lives” and ability to survive trouble, but because of his large family – he has nine children with his wife.

But things caught up with him in May 2025 when he was arrested and charged with attempted murder, which he denies. His wife is accused of the same crime and also denies the charge. Unlike her husband, she has been granted bail.

He was later charged with corruption over allegations in relation to providing health services to the police – and last month pleaded guilty as part of a deal with the prosecution but has since withdrawn the plea as the agreement has fallen apart.