Attorney says plea deals must match seriousness of the offense.

The Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes court has adjourned the 228-million rand Medicare24 tender case to the 13th of July for agreement on the sentencing of tenderpreneur, Vusimuzi Cat Matlala. The court this morning* rejected the state and the defence's proposed 8-year direct imprisonment, finding it to be too lenient. Instead it proposed a 12-year sentence. Matlala's lawyers consulted with him and they did not agree to the proposed sentence. Matlala pleaded guilty to fraud, corruption, and money laundering. Although he entered into a plea and sentencing agreement with the National Prosecuting Authority, the court found that a harsher sentence was justified. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to Associate Attorney at Ulrich Roux & Associates, Bradon Wolmarans.....