Johannesburg – According to a report by the Sunday Times, WhatsApp messages exchanged between two alleged members of a feared South African gang have revealed how they plotted the kidnapping of Pretoria businessman Jerry Boshoga in 2024, with the two men also discussing how much they would charge for the job.
The messages show Tiego Mabusela and Musa Kekana, described as henchmen of notorious gang leader Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala, planning the abduction and agreeing on a fee of “5clipa,” meaning R500,000 each.
On the night of 14 February 2024, Mabusela sent Kekana a photo of Boshoga with the message: “That’s the guy.” He then described Boshoga as a well-known figure in Pretoria, while Kekana asked for his name so he could search for more photos on social media. 
“Me and u we tell the Team that it’s 1 million just to grab and deliver him and after 3 days we collect or is it too much [?] … Cause I think 5clipa [R500k each] aside for us [is] fine for us … if we are 4 it’s 250k each it’s enough dnt u think?” Mabusela wrote in the messages.
Kekana responded: “1M is fine I think they be fine with it cause it’s just taking him.”
Boshoga, 45, was abducted in November 2024 while attending a meeting at a KFC in Wierdapark, Centurion. His kidnappers initially demanded a ransom of R60 million from his family, later reducing it to R25 million in Bitcoin, and then further down to R10 million. Despite several ransom demands and videos, Boshoga has not been seen since and it remains unknown whether he is still alive.
Mabusela and Kekana are alleged members of a feared gang operating in and around Atteridgeville, Pretoria, said to have carried out extortions, contract killings and kidnappings. They are charged alongside Matlala in the attempted murders of taxi boss Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni, DJ Vettys (Seunkie Mokubung) and actress Tebogo Thobejane, who was Matlala’s former girlfriend. They are also charged alongside Katiso “KT” Molefe in the murders of DJ Sumbody (Oupa John Sefoka), DJ Vintos (Hector Buthelezi) and Armand Swart, a Vereeniging engineer allegedly killed in a case of mistaken identity.
Police say Mabusela has a long history of communicating with Matlala dating back to 2021, and allege that he was used to carry out criminal activity on Matlala’s behalf. The phones of both Mabusela and Kekana were confiscated after their arrest in 2024, revealing WhatsApp conversations in which they also allegedly planned the hits on Thobejane and Sibanyoni.
A harrowing video of Boshoga being assaulted was circulated, after which he vanished without a trace. Investigators have been unable to locate him since.
Boshoga was reported to be a tenderpreneur who also ran a VIP protection services company and a farm. His case drew significant attention when Witness C testified at the Madlanga commission of inquiry into corruption in the justice system, revealing that police had raided Matlala’s home in December 2024 after receiving information that Boshoga had been held there.
“We were informed there was information that led us to the house of Mr Matlala, as a person identified to be the person behind the kidnapping, and further information was that Mr Boshoga had been kept captive at the house of one Mr Vusimusi ‘Cat’ Matlala,” Witness C told the commission.
Police did not find Boshoga at the property, but Witness C described finding a distinctive white sheet tied to a window that resembled one visible in a ransom video sent to Boshoga’s family.
“Mr Jerry Boshoga was not in that room, but there was a white sheet that was very distinctive because it had torn edges and sides, and it was manually tied to the window,” Witness C said. “And that white sheet, it is distinctive because when one of the videos for the ransom was sent to the family of Mr Jerry Boshoga [the sheet was visible in the footage], and we could see that the sheet [in the room] resembled the [one in the video].”
Matlala, who denied any involvement in the kidnapping, told parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating corruption in the criminal justice system that Boshoga was his friend and that he had lent him R5 million to buy a drug-processing machine. He said Boshoga’s brother had informed him of the kidnapping.
When EFF leader Julius Malema asked Matlala to speak directly to Boshoga’s mother about his disappearance, Matlala said she was being misled.
“I will say that they are misleading her,” Matlala said. “And I think the people who are misleading her are the people who put me in prison, because I think they even went and told this same thing … to Jerry’s wife. So I will say she is being misled, because they know very well [that] I … was the first person who was looking for Jerry everywhere.”
He added: “So when they say I kidnapped him, it is because maybe of my suggestion that [we should] tell the police the truth. And then they were not comfortable with that. And I said to them, ‘It is either we do that or never find him. Because if we do not give them a clue, how are the police going to know where he is?’ They were emphasising that we need to save his image. So me and them, we ended up not agreeing on one thing. Even myself, I was tired of looking for someone, but we must lie to the police on the other side.”
Crime intelligence boss Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo told the same parliamentary committee in January that investigations were ongoing but had faced challenges. He said the case had been reallocated by Deputy National Commissioner General Shadrack Sibiya to another team, before the national commissioner later directed that the original team resume the investigation.
