Serge the Blesser Never Saw It Coming: Bombshell Recording Reveals His True Role in Cat Matlala Link

A dramatic courtroom recording has shattered the carefully curated image of South Africa’s most notorious “blesser,” exposing a web of connections that few saw coming. Serge Cabonge, the self-proclaimed “blesser” who built a reputation flaunting wealth and relationships with beautiful women, has found himself at the centre of a criminal investigation that reaches far beyond the glitzy nightlife he once dominated. The Congolese-born socialite, also known as “Serge the Blesser,” was thrust into the spotlight during former deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya’s bail hearing at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court, where a 25-minute recording played by the State exposed explosive allegations about his relationships with some of South Africa’s most controversial figures.

In the recording, played on Tuesday, Cabonge can be heard speaking to a man identified only as “Mr M,” the father of Sibiya’s alleged 16-year-old victim, where he made a stunning admission about his role in the alleged criminal network surrounding businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala. “I was not the middleman between Cat and Sibiya. I never collected money from Cat to give to Sibiya,” Cabonge insisted, instead implicating suspended police Sergeant Fannie Nkosi as the real conduit for their dealings. “They have been doing things, both of them, via Fannie Nkosi,” he was heard saying, a claim that directly contradicts earlier evidence presented at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.

The revelations are particularly damaging because they contradict sworn testimony from Witness C at the Madlanga Commission, a police detective who testified that Matlala himself claimed he would drop off money at a Sandton townhouse complex where Cabonge owned a property. According to that testimony, Matlala allegedly told investigators that Sibiya preferred cash payments over electronic transfers to avoid a paper trail, and that the “Blesser” was intimately connected to the arrangement. Witness C described Cabonge as “the fixer, a Congolese also called the Blesser,” placing him squarely within a network that allegedly involved payments ranging from R500,000 to R1 million per month.

Yet Cabonge has consistently portrayed himself as nothing more than a socialite and businessman who happens to know powerful people. In September 2025, he publicly claimed to be “close friends” with both Sibiya and Matlala, telling EWN that his relationship with the suspended top cop spanned many years. “I know the general – everybody knows the general – for many years. I have got a close relationship with him for many years. Not in a bad way,” he said at the time, while denying any involvement in an alleged hit on actress Tebogo Thobejane. But the recording played in court also contains darker undertones, including Cabonge’s claims that someone on the Madlanga Commission had advised him to leave the country and would protect him if his name surfaced—allegations that have not been verified but have raised serious questions about the reach of the networks under investigation.

The fallout from these revelations is far from over. As Sibiya’s bail application was postponed to allow the defence to consult, the question on everyone’s lips is whether Serge the Blesser will face the same scrutiny that has already claimed the liberty of the powerful figures he once called friends. The recording has done more than expose a socialite’s connections—it has laid bare the uncomfortable truth that in South Africa’s shadowy underworld, the line between glamour and criminality is perilously thin.

Source https://x.com/AdvoBarryRoux/status/2109952923769639253