The National Prosecuting Authority has confirmed that money laundering charges against Nthabiseng Nzama will proceed, after it declined to act on representations she submitted seeking to have the case against her dropped. The decision, confirmed on Monday 23 March 2026, means Nzama will stand trial alongside co-accused Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, his wife Tsakane Matlala, and two alleged hitmen in one of the most high-profile criminal cases in recent South African history.
Nzama’s legal team had argued the charges lacked merit and urged the NPA to withdraw them. The State considered those submissions but found them unconvincing.
The decision ends weeks of court postponements that had been granted specifically to allow the NPA time to review her representations.
Who is Nthabiseng Nzama and why is she in this case?
Nzama, 23, is the daughter of Tiego Floyd Mabusela, one of the alleged hitmen in both the Tebogo Thobejane attempted murder case and the DJ Sumbody murder case.
She was charged with money laundering after investigators alleged her bank account was used to channel more than R120,000 believed to be linked to the planning of the hit on Thobejane.
The State’s case against her rests almost entirely on the timing of a series of payments made by Matlala into her account.
Prosecutor Elize le Roux told the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court that exactly one hour and three minutes before Mabusela’s mother died, Matlala transferred R100,000 into Nzama’s bank account. On October 18, the day after the shooting on the N1, a further R100,000 was paid into her account, with the reference “Medicare 24.”
Matlala told the court the payments were intended to help cover funeral costs for Mabusela’s mother.
Prosecutor le Roux dismissed that explanation as implausible, noting that the first payment was made on 12 October, six days before the woman died.
What is the bigger case?
Matlala and his co-accused face 25 charges in total, 11 of which are counts of attempted murder stemming from three separate shooting incidents between August 2022 and January 2024.
The case has been transferred to the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg given the scale and seriousness of the charges.
At the centre of it all is the attempted murder of actress and socialite Tebogo Thobejane.
On 17 October 2023, Thobejane, along with friends Anele Malinga and Ncube Khumbulani, was ambushed on the N1 highway near Sandton. Their car was sprayed with bullets.
Thobejane was shot in the foot, while a female passenger sustained a serious spinal injury.
The State alleges Matlala conspired to kill Thobejane, his former girlfriend, and that he laundered more than R120,000 linked to the murder plot.
Court records show he allegedly sent WhatsApp messages to hired gunmen instructing them to “shoot her in the face so her family doesn’t recognise her.”
Matlala has denied being the mastermind behind the failed hit.
How deep does this network go?
The Matlala case is not an isolated criminal matter. It sits at the intersection of organised crime, the taxi industry and allegations of political interference that reach into the highest levels of law enforcement.
Police confirmed that an AK-47 rifle and two pistols seized from the alleged hitmen tied to Matlala have been linked to 18 serious crimes, including the murders of DJ Sumbody and his two bodyguards, Sibusiso Mokoena and Sandile Myeza, as well as Transnet engineer Armand Swart, and the attempted murder of taxi billionaire Joe Sibanyoni.
Co-accused Kekana and Mabusela also face murder charges for the killing of DJ Sumbody and his bodyguards in November 2022 in Woodmead, Johannesburg.
Court proceedings have also linked the accused to several other killings in Gauteng, with six men shot dead in their cars on Gauteng roads between March 2022 and April 2024.
KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi publicly stated that Matlala is tied to a “syndicate involving senior politicians,” and hinted that the killings included those of well-known artists.
The case has also drawn scrutiny of alleged connections between Matlala and suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and former minister Bheki Cele.
What has been slowing the case down?
Progress toward a trial date has been repeatedly frustrated by procedural disputes. The defence team, led by advocate Annelene van den Heever, has challenged the seizure of Matlala’s electronic devices, alleging that information was deleted from them.
She has stated that the head of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption gave evidence at a parliamentary portfolio committee confirming that her expert complained information had been deleted from a seized phone.
Van den Heever has also accused the State of deliberately frustrating her clients by failing to disclose outstanding documents, arguing the matter cannot proceed to a pre-trial hearing while that information remains outstanding.
Both Tsakane Matlala and Nzama had previously made representations to the NPA arguing the money laundering case against them could not stand. The proceedings had already been delayed due to disputes over evidence disclosure.
Monday’s ruling closes one of those avenues. Nzama’s charges stay. The NPA’s message is clear: the State intends to see this through.
Where does it go from here?
With Nzama’s representations dismissed, all five accused are now firmly on the same legal path.
The five suspects are still awaiting a confirmed trial date, with numerous delays having prevented a pre-trial hearing from being finalised and a date set.
The case is before the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg, and Judge William Karam has made clear he wants pre-trial proceedings to advance for those accused who are ready.
Matlala remains in custody at Kgosi Mampuru Maximum Security Prison, where a cellphone was reportedly discovered in his cell during a prison raid, raising concerns about ongoing communication with potential accomplices.
For Tebogo Thobejane, who has continued to speak publicly about her ordeal, Monday’s development is one more step toward a trial she has waited nearly three years to see begin.
