Illustrative image, from left: Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala. (Photo: Gallo Images / Sharon Seretlo) | Acting EMPD chief, Brigadier Julius Mkhwananzi. (Photo: Facebook) | Madlanga Commission evidence leader advocate Mahlape Sello SC. (Photo: Gallo Images / Beeld / Deaan Vivier) | Retired Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department deputy chief Revo Spies. (Photo: Screengrab / SABC) 
On Monday, 10 November, retired Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) deputy chief Revo Spies told the Madlanga Commission that a group of officers within the EMPD’s specialised services unit allegedly ran a criminal racket, hijacking trucks and disappearing with their freight.
This formed part of Spies’s broader testimony, in which he described how the officers “operated like rogues”.
“They would hear a rumour and go out making arrests in places like Hammanskraal, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Free State. According to them, it was a success because there were arrests, but they acted completely outside their mandate. They conducted criminal investigations, which are solely the responsibility of the SAPS. They had no authority to investigate cases, yet they did it.”
Spies revealed that a civilian, the owner of a security firm who has not been charged in connection with the alleged rogue EMPD activities, was a constant presence in the alleged criminal activities. He did not name the person.
Spies dropped another bombshell, alleging that the current acting EMPD boss, Brigadier Julius Mkhwananzi, was an accessory to a murder, accused of cleaning up a crime scene. This is the same brigadier who, according to evidence before the commission, entered into an unlawful agreement with alleged organised crime leader Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala’s security company.
Read more: Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala and the ‘unlawful deal’ with Ekurhuleni metro cops
The Madlanga Commission is hearing evidence into alleged criminality, political interference and corruption within law enforcement, after explosive claims by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who claimed that top officials had conspired to obstruct investigations into criminal syndicates.
Crime scene clean-up alleged
According to Spies, information about the murder scene was shared during an engagement with the police watchdog, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), in March 2023. At the time, Spies discussed the dockets involving EMPD members under investigation by Ipid.
However, to his surprise, Ipid later informed him that they were probing the same cases and requested that EMPD hand over the dockets to them – a request to which the EMPD ultimately complied.
This murder happened on 15 April 2022 in the Brakpan area. The body was found in a dam, and according to Spies, Ipid’s probe has been linked to the “rogue” EMPD officers.
It is alleged that the victim was tortured on the scene, with a rubber tyre tube pulled over his face to suffocate the person.
The commission heard that one of the EMPD members who turned State witness claimed the victim offered to pay the officers R500,o00 for his release. Despite this, the person was shot and killed, and Brigadier Mkhwanazi was allegedly called to the scene.
“Arriving at the scene, the brigadier allegedly proceeded to direct them to clean the scene. The body was placed on the back of this civilian bakkie and dumped somewhere,” Spies told the commission.
According to Spies, none of the officers has been charged and the matter is still under investigation.
Officers accused of theft
Spies referred to several cases being probed by Ipid in connection with the EMPD’s alleged rogue operators, including the alleged theft of a truck in Putfontein, Benoni, in 2024.
Officers allegedly arrived at the scene around 11pm and contacted their supervisor, who arranged for the driver to come only the next morning. The truck and its owner were kept overnight — an act Spies described as resembling kidnapping.
When the driver arrived the next morning, the officers drove the truck off the property, claiming it was unlicensed and would be impounded. However, instead of heading to the impoundment lot, they took the N12 highway.
The truck owner followed them using a dashcam, but lost sight of the vehicle when the officers switched on their lights and sirens. The following morning, at around 4am, the truck’s horse was found at the Boksburg SAPS pound, registered as a recovered stolen vehicle by the same officers. The truck’s contents were missing.
The owner discovered the truck was undriveable because the gearbox controller had been removed. The case remains unresolved, with certain EMPD members implicated, but no arrests have been made.
Another case in the Hillbrow-Kensington area in 2024, known as the Precious Stones case, allegedly involved the same group of EMPD officers. A lawyer representing the victim notified the city of an intended lawsuit over the theft of precious stones worth R45-million.
The owner, who had lawful export approval, claimed the officers arrived in uniform, signed in at a nearby police station, and used an SAPS evidence disposal form to seize the stones under false pretences. When the owner reported the matter to SAPS, they had no record of the operation.
CCTV footage later confirmed the involvement of EMPD officers. The stones were never recovered, no arrests were made, and the officers were not disciplined.
The commission was advised that, to gain a clearer perspective on all the cases against the alleged rogue unit, it should begin its inquiry with Ipid.
Shocking evidence was also heard about how an informant, Jaco Hanekom, was killed after he exposed an unlawful EMPD operation in 2022 in Meyerton, where the rogue group is alleged to be involved in stealing copper. Hanekom, before his death, provided video footage of the theft. DM