DJ Sumbody murder trial pushed to July 2027 as two accused are tied up in the Cat Matlala case

The murder trial of businessman Katiso “KT” Molefe and three co-accused will not begin until July 2027, after the state told the Johannesburg High Court that two of the accused are already standing trial in a separate attempted-murder case before the same court.

The proceedings had been set to open on Monday, 26 October. As Sunday World reported on 26 October, the postponement was granted after the state set out the conflict.

Molefe appeared alongside Michael Pule Tau, Tiego Floyd Mabusela and Musa Kekana. The four face 35 charges, among them murder, conspiracy to commit murder and the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.

The case centres on allegations linking the accused to several killings, including those of musician Oupa “DJ Sumbody” Sefoka, DJ Vintos and Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart.

Sefoka was shot dead alongside his two bodyguards in Woodmead, Johannesburg, on 20 November 2022. Swart, an engineer from Vereeniging, was shot dead outside his workplace in April 2024. Investigators at one stage explored the possibility that Swart was killed in a case of mistaken identity, and the state has alleged that Molefe played a role in orchestrating the killings with the help of his co-accused.

Molefe was initially arrested in connection with Swart’s murder, and investigators linked him to the other killings through forensic evidence. He was granted bail of R400 000 in October 2025. Tau, Mabusela and Kekana remain in custody.

The reason for the long delay sits in a second courtroom schedule. State prosecutor Advocate Elize le Roux told the court that Kekana and Mabusela are involved in an ongoing trial before Judge Cassim Moosa, the Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala attempted-murder case, which is being heard in the Johannesburg High Court.

That case involves allegations of multiple attempted hit plots between 2022 and 2024. Matlala and four co-accused, including his wife Tsakani, Nthabiseng Nzama, Kekana and Mabusela, face 25 charges, among them attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, fraud, money laundering and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition. All five have pleaded not guilty.

“If this trial proceeds, it will bring the other trial in which the accused are currently involved to a halt,” le Roux told the court. “This would affect the accused, their legal counsel and myself, as I am the prosecutor in that matter. We therefore request that this trial be postponed until July next year to allow the other trial to conclude.”

The case has also drawn attention from the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, where Molefe has been linked to a criminal network referred to as the “Big Five”.

For the families of Sefoka, Vintos and Swart, the delay means a further wait of more than a year and a half before the charges against the four are tested in open court. For the state, it means one prosecutor cannot run two heavy trials at the same time, and the accused cannot be in two courts at once. The July 2027 date is set.