EMPD brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi. Photo: JMPD
Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) deputy chief of police Julius Mkhwanazi, who is accused of procuring security services from murder-accused Vusimuzi Matlala’s Cat VIP Protection, said security threats necessitated extra support from the private company.
Testifying before the Madlanga commission of inquiry into corruption in the criminal justice system, Mkhwanazi said he had identified security threats that required additional support, and the city’s police vehicle fleet was old and constantly breaking down.
“It was at no cost to the city. [Matlala] said, I’ll just provide my guys to assist. He didn’t charge us anything. I think for him it was part of a marketing strategy,” Mkhwanazi said, adding that the vehicles supplied by the company were not branded.
Previous witnesses have accused Mkhwanazi of signing an “unlawful” memorandum of understanding, which stated that the EMPD had “an endless working relationship and memorandum of understanding with Cat VIP to assist EMPD officers in any VIP protection and security services in and out of the City of Ekurhuleni”.
“I read and signed,” he said.
As director of specialised services at the time, he admitted to introducing Cat VIP Protection to the EMPD. He said he approved the operational plan for security at the 2022 state-of-the-city address. The city’s law enforcement was struggling due to budget constraints, he reiterated.
Mkhwanazi is accused of fitting blue lights to seven private vehicles supplied by Matlala’s company, despite the devices being reserved for official law enforcement use only.
“I didn’t install blue lights, I didn’t brand the cars. I didn’t see the cars physically; they didn’t come to the City of Ekurhuleni,” he testified at the Madlanga commission.
Mkhwanazi said Matlala later upgraded his fleet to “classy, highly performing quality cars because he was targeting clients from outside the country”. He conceded that he had approached Matlala to request the donation of older vehicles to the EMPD. He said he had sought permission from EMPD regional manager Chris Steyn, who instructed him to obtain a letter of intent from Matlala.
“I called Mr Matlala, and he said, ‘No, it’s fine, Julius, you can do that,’” Mkhwanazi said. Steyn reconsidered the plan after complaints from the then EMPD deputy chief of police, Revo Spies, he added.
Earlier testimony from other witnesses before the commission detailed how Matlala’s company had effectively “outsourced law enforcement” in Ekurhuleni.
Spies testified that an “unlawful” memorandum signed in June and October 2021 allowed Cat VIP Protection to operate as police — with blue lights fitted on its vehicles, including BMWs, a Mercedes-Benz and a Volkswagen — and even to hire out a helicopter. The Ekurhuleni municipality was permitted to use the helicopter for only two hours a month.
The memorandum also authorised Cat VIP Protection’s vehicles to attend crime scenes as though they were official EMPD units. Spies testified that there were even plans for the company to protect the mayor.
Xolani Nciza, the city’s suspended director of employee relations, testified that senior officials — including former city manager Imogen Mashazi, legal services head Kemi Behari and HR boss Linda Gxasheka — interfered in disciplinary processes to protect the EMPD’s Mkhwanazi.
Nciza disputed Mkhwanazi’s claim of a longstanding institutional relationship with Cat VIP Protection, telling the inquiry: “There is no working relationship, let alone an endless one. He had a working relationship, not [with] the municipality.”
On Tuesday, Mashazi admitted she had not conducted proper due diligence on the memorandum, telling the commission it was an administrative slip-up on her part.
Mkhwanazi claimed that the tensions within Ekurhuleni were political, especially disagreements with former National Party bureaucrats like Spies.
“The tension between me and Revo Spies started when we were coming in. Before we joined the metro, we were from different political parties, and we were young and participating, and we are not apologetic about that,” he said.