Ekurhuleni officials allegedly protected metro police boss Julius Mkhwanazi and his ‘rogue unit’ for years

The suspension of controversial Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) boss Julius Mkhwanazi, linked to a murder case and accused of running a rogue unit allegedly involved in extortion, kidnapping, theft and truck hijackings, comes years after calls for his removal.

On Wednesday, 12 November, Jaco Terblanche, the DA’s spokesperson on community safety in Ekurhuleni, told Daily Maverick that he had called for Mkhwanazi’s suspension three years ago, but political interference within the metro shielded him.

His comments came shortly after Ekurhuleni city manager Kagiso Lerutla confirmed that Mkhwanazi, deputy chief of the EMPD, had been suspended, effective 11 November 2025.

The decision followed damning testimony before the Madlanga Commission, where Mkhwanazi was accused of leading an alleged rogue unit implicated in serious crimes, including murder.

“It’s a suspension that comes far too late. Three years ago, I called for his suspension after the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) report and the blue-light saga surfaced,” said Terblanche.

“It’s shocking how the system kept watering it down and protecting someone like that. I just hope a proper disciplinary process takes place and that justice is served. With all these allegations piling up, I hope he finally has his day in court.”

Ekurhuleni claims it acted ‘decisively’

The reason for the suspension, according to Lerutla, is that the testimony emerging from the Madlanga Commission is both shocking and deeply concerning. 

“We are unequivocally committed to clean governance, accountability and restoring public trust in our municipality. In line with municipal legislation and our clean governance mandate, we are launching an immediate and independent internal investigation into new allegations of wrongdoing within the EMPD. We will act decisively on its findings, without fear or favour,” the city manager continued.

The Madlanga Commission has heard damning evidence from several EMPD officials against Mkhwanazi. 

In September, on the second day of the Madlanga Commission, KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said that alleged organised crime figure Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala was “enjoying too much privilege from law enforcement”.

He said people from within the EMPD fitted his vehicles with blue emergency lights, even though these were strictly meant for law enforcement.

The commission heard that Mkhwanazi was central to signing an agreement between the EMPD and Matlala’s security company, which did not follow the proper channels, to supply surveillance technology, suspect-tracking tools and tactical support in pursuing violent repeat offenders.

Read more: Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala and the ‘unlawful deal’ with Ekurhuleni metro cops

Allegations

The allegations levelled against Mkhwanazi and the rogue group include:

1. Mkhwananzi was allegedly an accessory to a murder. This murder happened on 15 April 2022 in the Brakpan area. It is alleged that the victim was tortured on the scene, with a rubber tyre tube pulled over his face to suffocate him. The body was found in a dam. Arriving at the scene, Mkhwanazi allegedly proceeded to direct them to clean it up. According to Ipid’s probe, “rogue” EMPD officers have been linked to the murder.
2. Ipid has also linked the EMPD’s specialised services unit, under Mkhwanazi’s command, to the theft of a truck and its load in Putfontein, Benoni, and the kidnapping of the driver, in March 2023.
3. The same alleged rogue unit was involved in the Precious Stones case, which occurred in the Hillbrow-Kensington area in 2024, where police are accused of stealing precious stones worth R45-million.
4. Makhwanzi and more than 200 of his officers refused to undergo vetting and have their fingerprints taken. Up until September 2025, the vetting process had not been completed.

In the broader EMPD, 275 officers have criminal convictions, which include 58 counts of assault, 41 of theft, 33 of driving under the influence and 28 of reckless driving.

Another 15 officers are awaiting trial for murder, 14 for fraud and eight for robbery. A hundred others were awaiting trial. Four officers convicted of murder and four of rape are still in the service of EMPD.

Thwarted suspension process

On Wednesday, 12 November, former Ekurhuleni Municipality head of employee relations, Xolani Nciza, explained how repeated attempts to suspend Mkhwanazi were allegedly thwarted by interference from top management.

He said the process began in February 2023, after Ipid revealed serious allegations against Mkhwanazi and his alleged rogue unit.

A letter of intention to suspend him was sent on 20 February 2023, inviting him to provide reasons why he should not be suspended. A week later, on 27 February, Mkhwanazi was formally suspended for three months and ordered to vacate the premises, pending the outcome of the probe. He was expected to return to duty on 24 May 2023.

Nciza said he had heard “horror stories about what was happening in the unit, and Ipid, issues of copper theft, the blue light scandal, murder, extortion. Ipid was allowed to continue the probe while the disciplinary process was still on ice.”

Red flags were raised when Ipid indicated that its investigation would not be finalised by 23 May 2023. The process to extend Mkhwanazi’s suspension then began, a step that Nciza confirmed he initiated.

According to Nciza, on the night of 23 May 2023, he received a missed WhatsApp call from the then city manager, Dr Imogen Mashazi.

When he later spoke to her, she allegedly objected to the extension of Mkhwanazi’s suspension, saying: “You guys hate Julius, leave him alone. We are not going to extend the suspension.”

Nciza told the commission that Mashazi accused him of “targeting” Mkhwanazi and acting out of “personal motives”. At the end of the call, she allegedly instructed him to update Mkhwanazi’s status and prepare for his return to work.

‘The community can’t trust the EMPD’

“The community can’t trust the metro police at this stage. People don’t know if it is a real, ethical officer serving them or a criminal in uniform,” said the DA’s Terblanche.

He said that morale within the EMPD had also taken a severe knock, as honest officers were now forced to work under a cloud of suspicion created by the actions of a few.

“Inside the EMPD, we have … very bad morale. Many officers feel the department has been taken over by criminals, so they asked, why should they even do their jobs. It got so bad that officers arrested for corruption, taking bribe money from spaza shops, are out on bail the next day, back at work, and never suspended,” he said.

“One entry-level officer even told me, ‘Why should I bother? I just come in, book in, and go home.”

CEO of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) Wayne Duvenage told Daily Maverick that on the back of what was known to the authorities, the action against Mkhwanazi should have happened long ago.

“Had action been taken promptly at the time of the evidence of his involvement in the unlawful blue-light contract, the city and the public might well have been spared from other unwarranted conduct by him. 

“This is a symptom of city officials too afraid to act, when people like Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi, who appear to be connected to higher powers, are protected by corrupt syndicates,” he said.

He said members of the Ekhuruleni Mayoral Council should also be held accountable for their lack of action. DM