Suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi appeared before Parliament's Ad Hoc Committee earlier this year to face serious allegations of corruption.
Image: Photographer: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) suspended deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi is set to appear in the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 20 April, following his arrest on Saturday. He is charged with fraud, corruption, and defeating the ends of justice.
ActionSA has stepped up its demands for Mkhwanazi’s immediate dismissal from the City of Ekurhuleni.
ActionSA Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate Xolani Khumalo said the city can no longer afford to retain officials facing such serious allegations, warning that continued employment would further damage public trust.
“Mkhwanazi has brought both the EMPD and the City of Ekurhuleni into disrepute. He has forfeited all credibility and cannot remain in the city's employ at taxpayers’ expense. The city manager must act without delay and terminate his employment,” Khumalo said.
The arrest follows damning allegations that emerged during his three days of testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, linking him to robbery, murder, corruption, and kidnapping.
Police categorically stated that his arrest was not linked to evidence presented at the commission regarding the death of suspected robber Emmanuel Mbense or the blue light scandal.
Mkhwanazi faced scrutiny at the commission over his alleged role in the death of Mbense, who was allegedly tortured by the EMPD officers in April 2022. He was accused of ordering metro police to dump Mbense's corpse into a Brakpan river.
He told the commission he rushed to the scene at 2am after receiving a call from the late informer Jaco Hannekom. Hannekom had informed him of “successes” in crime-fighting and asked him to come and witness them.
On arrival, Mkhwanazi said he spotted at least nine white men at the scene and felt comfortable. He said he stayed only briefly because he was angry with Hannekom for waking him for nothing. He denied issuing instructions to dispose of Mbense’s body in the river.
He also faced intense questioning from the commission regarding the theft of R14.9-million in precious stones belonging to Peter Prinsloo, a private property owner in Rosebank, where two metro police officers conducted a raid.
The precious stones went missing after officers Adrian McKenzie and Keisher Leigh-Stolls removed them from the property.
The pair is currently under investigation by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) and was previously arrested.
IPID officers recovered precious stones worth R40,000 from McKenzie’s vehicle, but the majority of them are still missing.
IPID senior investigator Thulani Magagula recently testified that McKenzie claimed the stones were used for decorations during the night.
Mkhwanazi has been accused of deploying the officers to commit armed robbery at Prinsloo’s property.
This followed his testimony that he dispatched the two officers to be part of a joint operation in Johannesburg, which he said included stakeholders such as the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) and the Gauteng Traffic Department.
However, the commission discredited his version of a joint operation, stating that only two EMPD officers and a civilian named Etienne van der Walt conducted the raid.
He has also been at the centre of the controversial blue lights scandal involving alleged crime mastermind Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala. He allegedly facilitated the registration of vehicles linked to Matlala’s company in the municipality’s name and had them fitted with blue lights.
The commission heard on Thursday that he had facilitated the issuing of peace officer cards to Matlala and some of his company personnel.His testimony, based on his supplementary statement, was never concluded. He is expected to appear again on a date yet to be determined by the commission.
Without naming Mkhwanazi as he is still due in court, SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the SAPS’s Madlanga Commission Task Team arrested a 50-year-old senior municipal official for fraud, corruption, and defeating or obstructing the ends of justice at his Gauteng home on Saturday morning.
The DA in Ekurhuleni welcomed Mkhwanazi's arrest, stating it follows years of sustained effort by the DA to root out corruption in the city.
Meanwhile, police have confirmed the arrest of another senior Ekurhuleni municipal official in connection with the same investigation.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the 40-year-old official was arrested in Johannesburg on Sunday morning.
“He faces the same charges of fraud, corruption, and defeating and/or obstructing the ends of justice,” Mathe said.
The accused is also expected to appear before the same court on Monday, 20 April.
rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za