Suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) deputy chief of police Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi is alleged by three witnesses – current and former employees of the city – who appeared before the Madlanga commission this week to have run riot in the quest for power while he enjoyed protection from former city manager, Dr Imogen Mashazi. A fourth witness, who appeared in camera, testified to Mkhwanazi’s cover up of the murder of robbery suspect in 2021.
From helping to create a fake memorandum of understanding (MoU) disguised to cover the involvement of Cat VIP Security Services, a company owned by controversial businessman Vusimuzi Matlala in EMPD activities, to overseeing the activities of a “core group” of rogue officers – the running theme of the commission hearings was Mkhwanazi’s alleged criminal activities.
The last witness to testify on Friday did so in camera, detailing an incident in which he and a security company colleague were called to the Brakpan home of a man suspected of robbery. Witness D told the commission that it appeared that the officers present, from the EMPD and the South African Police Service (SAPS), were there to effect an arrest on the man. Things changed, however, when he offered a bribe of R500 000, which he said he had in the house. Not long afterwards – a while after the officers had gone into one of the bedrooms with the suspect – the man was dead, seemingly having been suffocated, and the group of officers needed a plan for how to conceal the incident. One of them made a call to someone referred to as the “chief” and soon Mkhwanazi arrived, only to give Witness D an instruction to dump the body in a dam in the area, to which he complied.
The body would later be recovered by other officers, and soon enough the original group reconvened to discuss how to avoid accountability. In one of the incidents, one of the EMPD officers told the others that Major-General Feroz Khan of the SAPS crime intelligence division would be able to help. Witness D further testified that despite his efforts to report the crime to the SAPS in Boksburg, nothing has come of the case.
The group was known in Witness D’s circles to be involved in the recovery of stolen copper, cobalt, and other products. Some were even issued with appointment letters signed by Mkhwanazi that purported to authorise them to partake in EMPD activities. “Jaco Hanekom, Chris Smit from Track Squad, and Etienne van der Walt who also owns Track Squad as well as Titan Security … all at some stage had appointment letters from EMPD stating that they form part of a EMPD truck hijacking task team. These letters were signed by Julius Mkhwanazi,” said Witness D.
Protecting the powerful
In other evidence, former divisional head of employee relations Xolani Nciza told the commission how Mashazi protected Mkhwanazi from disciplinary processes following his contravention of city policy. Nciza said his attempt to institute a tribunal in April 2023 to oversee a disciplinary process against Mkhwanazi and other officers over numerous allegations of misconduct was stopped by Mashazi and Linda Gxasheka, the head of human resources. This despite the city’s policy empowering Nciza to oversee such a process and him having undertaken the initiative of sourcing an external prosecutor to act on behalf of the employer.
Mashazi and Gxasheka roped in the head of legal services for Ekurhuleni, Kemi Behari, instead, and Nciza’s efforts were stopped. Outside of the official process, Mashazi personally called both Nciza and Mkhwanazi’s boss, suspended police Isaac Mapiyeye, to tell them separately to “back off Julius”. For his insistence on following procedure, Nciza was victimised by Gxasheka, who conjured up false accusations against him of lying about his qualifications when he applied for his position. Following this, Nciza was suspended and later dismissed without a hearing in August 2023, he said.
The MoU referred to earlier had surfaced as part of a media enquiry by News24’s Jeff Wicks who wanted to learn more about the relationship between the EMPD and Cat VIP, and if the security company was authorised to use bluelight-fitted EMPD vehicles. Along with questions, he sent the document to former EMPD spokesperson Kelebogile Thepa, who also testified before Madlanga about her own victimisation for proposing an internal investigation into the matter to support a comprehensive response to the media.
She recounted two separate incidents that happened after she lost favour with Mkhwanazi, in which she was kidnapped and threatened with death over “being troublesome at work” – she surmised these were the result of her efforts to seek a truthful media response. Furthermore, she was redeployed to another command position after being told that all media queries would be centralised to the office of the city manager under Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini.
Sidelined
As for Revo Spies, one of the former deputy chiefs under Mapiyeye, his victimisation came in the form of his contract not being renewed and his position being dissolved from the organogram of the EMPD. He was acting chief when Thepa first received the media enquiry and shared it with him. The victimisation happened, though, in circumstances where there were already allegations of irregular conduct on the part of other officers.
He told the commission that a meeting in 2023 at which Mashazi ordered Mapiyeye to take leave was actually meant to address the allegations against Mkhwanazi and to determine the disciplinary steps to be taken. But Mashazi was dismissive of Spies and Mapiyeye, saying their efforts showed they had a personal vendetta against Mkhwanazi.
They too, like Nciza, were sidelined from then on. “There is a point where there were such gross allegations made about corruption, tender irregularities, and all sorts of things. At no point whatsoever has the municipality commissioned a forensic investigation,” Nciza explained.
All witnesses told of how their efforts to do their work and hold Mkhwanazi accountable, ended up having a negative impact on them. Their colleagues in the EMPD were allegedly weaponised against them. Nciza told the commission that the letter of intention to suspend him was delivered to his house by six officers on Gxasheka’s instruction. Spies, meanwhile, has had to beef up security at his home after hearing from sympathetic former colleagues of rumours that he would be an easy target for a hit because he rides a motorcycle.
