prosecutors. The business tycoon pulled out of the agreement after a South African court recommended a higher jail sentence - 12 years instead of the agreed eight. Matlala was accused of bribing top police officials to win a 360m rand ($22m; £16.5m) tender for his health company Medicare24 in 2024. He pleaded guilty last month, as part of a deal that could have seen Matlala giving key evidence against senior officials. Though disappointed by Matlala's U-turn, the state still believes it has a "strong and winnable case", Kaizer Kganyago, a spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) told journalists on Monday.  Prosecutors had initially offered Matlala a reduced eight-year prison term instead of the prescribed 15. (BBC)