Mediacare24 Holdings chief executive Michael (Mike) van Wyk.
Image: Screenshot/ Gcwalisile Khanyile
WhatsApp chats, voice notes, and video clips presented before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Monday have revealed what appears to be alleged drug dealing between Medicare24 Holdings chief executive Michael (Mike) van Wyk, attempted murder-accused tenderpreneur Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala and a third party whose name is yet to be revealed.
Matlala’s Tshwane Medicare24, which is embroiled in a controversial multi-million rand SAPS contract, is a franchise or subsidiary of Van Wyk’s Medicare24 Holdings.
Van Wyk was meant to testify before the Commission on Monday. His attorney, Sandy du Plessis, requested a postponement, saying her client suffered panic attacks and was admitted to hospital on Sunday.
The Commission approved the postponement, with the Commission’s chief evidence leader, Advocate Matthew Chaskalson SC, suggesting that he be allowed to lead the evidence, which Van Wyk would be cross-questioned on, so that the day of the proceedings is not lost.
The Commission agreed, and du Plessis sat in and listened to the proceedings on behalf of her client.
Chaskalson stated that the evidence leaders will be submitting evidence regarding Matlala and Van Wyk’s involvement in cocaine dealing.
The chats and call exchanges presented before the Commission revealed the urgency with which the negotiations for the pricing of the cocaine were handled between Matlala, Van Wyk, and a third party whose name is yet to be revealed. The third party has deposed an affidavit at the Commission.
A video showing five 1kg bricks of cocaine being weighed out was played at the Commission. Chaskalson told the Commission that the bricks in the video have been confirmed through forensic analysis as bricks of cocaine.
Matlala received the video on 6 April 2025, at 10h25, from a third party via WhatsApp and forwarded it to Van Wyk.
Screengrab of a brick of cocaine. The video of about five 1kg bricks was sent to Matlala, and he, in turn, forwarded it to van Wyk.
Image: Screenshot/ Gcwalisile Khanyile
At 10h26, Matlala responds to the third party (video sender) by saying, “Get me a good price.” Then at 10h31, there was a voice note from Van Wyk to Mr Matlala saying, “We’ll go in at 250”
At 10h34, Matlala sends a screenshot to the third party of his (Matlala’s) WhatsApp chats with someone who is saved on the phone as Bishop.
Then Bishop sends through Matlala a screenshot (Bishop’s chat with Thando, Mario, and others). What the screenshot shows is that at 09h11, Bishop was communicating with Thando, Mario, and others.
Then Bishop responded at 10h27 to Matlala and forwarded a message to Matlala saying “It’s all over now, bra. My brother, the price is very down. They don’t want our prices.”
At 10h28, Matlala had a voice call with Bishop.
That screenshot from Bishop was sent at 10h34, and immediately after that screenshot, Matlala forwards a voice note to the third party. The voice note that Matlala forwarded came from Van Wyk, and it says, “We’ll go in at 250”
Chaskalason said, “The sequence continues, and at 10h34 and at 10h35, there are calls between Matlala and the third party.”
At 10h36, a minute after those calls, Matlala calls Van Wyk, and at 10h48, Van Wyk forwards to Matlala, “might be ready to take tomorrow afternoon. There’s quite an important engagement in the morning. One, Wednesday, we can take two again.”
There is a voice call from a third party at 11h00, and a voice call back from Matlala at 11h33. Then there is a message from the third party saying, “We can only do R350k because my cost is R300k. The 250k we stock is the cheaper one. We do have it as well, but this one, worth 350k, is a 100% pure.”
Van Wyk, in an affidavit to the Commission, denied ever receiving the video of cocaine being weighed; however, it has since been established that he received the video.
The third party deleted the video for all WhatsApp users. However, the third party didn’t realise that Matlala had already forwarded the video to Van Wyk.
One of the messages exchanged reads, ‘Are you winning?’ To which there is a response, ‘I am waiting for him to come back, but he said R350k. It’s too much.’
The testimony continues, and Van Wyk is expected to respond to questions.