General Senona Confirms Forwarding Police Information to Cat Matlala, Doesn’t Believe He Was Wrong

• General Lesetja Senona admitted before the Madlanga Commission that he sent an affidavit to alleged crime boss Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala
• The KwaZulu-Natal Hawks boss claimed that he was unaware that he forwarded sensitive information as well, with the affidavit
• General Senona maintained that he did nothing wrong and only made an oversight by not reading what he sent before he did

Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.

GAUTENG - Major General Lesetja Senona doesn’t think he was wrong in sending Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala an affidavit, but believes he made an error in sending more than he intended.

General Senona, the head of the Hawks in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), made the admission before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on 28 January 2026. It was his second day testifying before the commission, which is sitting at the Bridgitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria.

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The KZN Hawks head was quizzed about information he sent to the alleged criminal boss, Matlala, but his response left the commissioners with more questions.

General Senona admits to sending an affidavit to Matlala

During his testimony, the Hawks head admitted to sending an affidavit to Matlala. The document was related to Esmael Nangy, who has been arrested on two separate occasions in connection with high-profile kidnapping-for-ransom cases.

He denied that the documents were sensitive information, insisting that they were already in the public domain. He also could not explain where he obtained it, saying he believes it may have come from a News24 article. His legal team later stated that the News24 article he was referring to was attached to his statement for the purposes of the commission, and he didn’t see it beforehand.

Despite the admission of his legal team, General Senona insisted that he wasn’t sure if he got the affidavit from the article or over WhatsApp. He also insisted that he didn’t read it fully but just forwarded it to Matlala.

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Police document was more than an affidavit

Commissioner Sesi Baloyi then noted that the document in question was not just an affidavit as General Senona alluded to. Commissioner Baloyi pointed out that the document was almost 200 pages and contained sensitive information, including photos and identity numbers of members of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, as well as information related to Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and his team.

The documents also contained information about Nangy, his wife and properties. Commissioner Baloyi pointed out that all of those documents could not be part of a News24 article.

When asked about why he sent so much sensitive information, General Senona stated that he didn’t realise that he did. He claimed that he didn’t read the whole affidavit and just forwarded it. He also stated that he thought he was just forwarding the affidavit and didn’t realise the magnitude of what he had done when he was informed of it at the Madlanga Commission.

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When questioned further about the situation by Advocate Adila Hassim, he maintained that he did not do anything wrong, but it might have been an oversight.

Other stories about Generala Senona's testimony

Briefly News reported that General Senona has made several allegations during his testimony before the commission.

• General Senona denied knowledge of the Big Five cartels, saying he only knew about the Big Five animals.
• The Hawks head admitted that he sent the Political Killings Task Team disbandment letter to Cat Matlala.
• General Senona refused to answer whether his wife was related to Cat Matlala, as they both shared the same surname.

Source: Briefly News