EMPD Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi. (Facebook)
The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) outsourced law enforcement to murder-accused businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, the Madlanga Commission heard on Monday.
Former EMPD deputy chief of police Revo Spies told the commission that Matlala’s Cat Security Services was granted extensive policing powers through memorandums of understanding signed with the city in June and October 2021.
“That’s as if we outsource law enforcement to a private company, to say, you will report on our behalf, you will actually act as a policeman,” said Spies.
The commission, chaired by retired judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga, heard that Matlala’s private security vehicles were allegedly fitted with unlawful blue lights and deployed in official police operations.
He noted that, under the National Road Traffic Act, blue lights are reserved for the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) law enforcement vehicles.
Spies said the arrangement with Matlata’s company was wrong and he had pushed for a disciplinary inquiry, which was, however, blocked by city manager Imogen Mashazi.
The agreements also involved Matlala’s subsidiary, Medicare 24 Emergency Medical Services, and authorised the fitting of red lights usually reserved for medical vehicles.
Spies said the arrangements went so far as to include Cat Security Services — which he said he had never heard of before — in crime scene response, arrests, and investigations, something he said was problematic.
“We must actually report crime to SAPS and not private security at all,” said Spies.
He said the deal was facilitated and defended internally by EMPD director of specialised services Julius Mkhwanazi, who argued in a report that Matlala’s company was assisting the EMPD and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks), with crime scene work and surveillance technology.
The directorate has been implicated in interfering with the arrest of Matlala’s co-accused, Katiso Molefe, with the use of a large contingent of officers and a helicopter. Senior Hawks officers have defended the intrusion during Molefe’s arrest as miscommunication, stating that they were responding to a complaint of police impersonation.
On Monday, Spies testified that Matlala’s private security team included former members of the South African National Defence Force and that it provided the Ekurhuleni police with a helicopter for official operations. He added that EMPD officers had, at times, reported crimes directly to Cat Security rather than to the SAPS.
Spies said the company was first contracted during the Covid-19 lockdown, initially to assist with enforcement operations, but its role later expanded to include city events such as the 2022 State of the City Address, and even VIP protection for the mayor and senior officials.
He told the commission that EMPD’s Mkhwanazi has been implicated in several theft and murder allegations, but the National Prosecuting Authority’s Independent Directorate Against Corruption declined to pursue charges.
Spies said that EMPD officers have also been implicated in theft and murder, but internal oversight mechanisms failed to act on allegations of criminal conduct, with Mashazi allegedly protecting implicated officers from accountability.
He described EMPD as being in a state of lawlessness and submitted CCTV footage showing members of the department conducting an unauthorised search and seizure outside their jurisdiction, during which R45 million and stolen copper cables reportedly disappeared.
Matlala has been implicated in instigating suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu to disband a political killings task team in exchange for funds for Mchunu’s ANC presidential campaign.
Mchunu has denied any wrongdoing and any links to Matlala at parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating the same allegations of corruption and criminality in the criminal justice system. He recently handed over his electronic devices to SAPS as part of the investigation into his involvement.
Spies’ testimony further reveals the extent of Matlala’s influence within the police service.
He told the Madlala commission that the memorandum with the EMPD granted Matlala’s security company access to official police operations and delegated law enforcement responsibilities.
“It sounds as if we are really abdicating or giving everything away to a private company to become the metro police on our behalf,” said Spies.