How ‘Cat’ Matlala might have ended up as an Eswatini prince

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Opens in new windowOpens in new windowOpens in new windowOpens in new windowEnter fullscreen mode displaying this image.ExpandVusumuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala has joined his co-accused in the dock before the Johannesburg High Court for trial. Matlala and his co-accused face 25 charges, including the attempted murder of his ex-girlfriend, Tebogo Thobejane. Picture: Antonio Muchave Story audio is generated using AI

Eswatini’s civil service commission has found assistant regional civil registrar Nonhlanhla Malambe guilty of dishonesty and corruption in connection with a scheme to illegally grant Eswatini citizenship and national identity documents to alleged underworld kingpin Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.

The decision follows a high-profile investigation triggered by international policing agency Interpol. Malambe faced two counts of dishonesty in contravention of the Public Service Act.

According to official commission documents seen by the Sunday Times, it was alleged that on February 12 2024 Malambe “wrongfully and with intent to mislead, registered and issued [an] Eswatini birth certificate to a foreign national Vusimuzi Dlamini”. She did this by falsely listing a local woman, Thembi Christinah Zulu, as the mother of the “foreign national”, without any of the legally required source documents.

The commission also established that, just eight days later, on February 20 2024, Malambe again acted “wrongfully and with intent to mislead” by issuing an Eswatini national identity card to the same Vusimuzi Dlamini, bypassing established civil registration procedures.

“Ms Malambe used her official position and her user name to commit fraud, by falsifying the parental details of Vusimuzi Dlamini, thus bringing the Kingdom of Eswatini and the ministry of home affairs into disrepute,” the commission found.

These findings come almost a year after Matlala appeared before the South African parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating allegations of corruption and capture in the criminal justice system — where he denied possessing an Eswatini ID. He also denied using the surname Dlamini, which was linked to the identity card in question, and claimed that investigators had “planted” an image of the document on his phone.

However, crime intelligence head Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo told the committee earlier in 2026 that forensic analysis had proved the ID was part of a personal conversation between Matlala and his wife. The state alleges that Matlala used the ID to pose as an Eswatini prince to secure a lease for a luxury Pretoria mansion in Waterkloof Ridge.

Although Malambe initially pleaded not guilty, she later admitted to her wrongdoing during the proceedings.

The fraudulent operation came to light only after a breakthrough by international law enforcement. Phathizwe Hlatshwayo — the assistant national civil registrar supervising the Hhohho and Shiselweni regions of Eswatini — testified that he had received an urgent verification request from Interpol.

This was for an Eswatini ID number, registered under the name of Vusimuzi Dlamini, who had been arrested and charged in South Africa.

The commission’s report noted: “He stated that he then punched the ID number into the system, which showed that this was not an old ID and had been recently processed by user X1003.”

System audits quickly linked the user account X1003 to Malambe.

Further checks revealed that the registered mother of the arrested foreign national was listed as Thembi Christinah Zulu. However, when Hlatshwayo checked the system for Zulu’s children, Vusimuzi’s name was absent.

The investigation took a dramatic turn when Hlatshwayo tracked down the listed mother to her homestead in the Motshane area. He found Zulu shelling maize at her home.

When questioned about her identity card, Zulu explained that she had lost it at a clinic during a routine medical check-up. She was horrified to learn that her lost ID had been used to manufacture a fictitious son.

Testifying before the commission, Zulu expressed her distress over the identity theft. She stated: “I have eight children and all share the Shongwe surname … [I] never registered any ID card for anyone in the year 2024.”

She further told the commission that the revelation “shocked” and “really bothered” her, as she feared the community would view her as “a promiscuous woman”.

The commission rejected any suggestion that Malambe’s actions were a mere administrative oversight.

“We are unable to find that this conduct was an error on the part of the accused,” the commission stated in its findings. “Her intention was clear. It was to flout the procedure and issue out the documents. It was a well-orchestrated plan.”

The commission revealed that Malambe had deliberately registered the birth certificate as a “replacement of the old version”, creating the false impression that Matlala had been registered long ago. The tactic was designed “to defeat any audit trail”.

The implications of the fraud are severe. The commission noted that the fraudulent issuance of national documents to a foreign national with “no legal entitlement to Eswatini citizenship” directly undermines the kingdom’s border integrity and national sovereignty.

Further, the incident has “caused diplomatic embarrassment and compromised the integrity of the national civil registration system”. The commission noted with concern that, had it not been for the South African police and Interpol investigation, the ministry of home affairs would have remained unaware of the fraudulent ID.

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