The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry has heard damning testimony about serious corruption and criminality within the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD). Retired Deputy Commissioner Revo Spies appeared before the Commission in Pretoria and laid out a series of allegations that point to a breakdown of law-enforcement standards and accountability within the metro police service.
Spies described how under the leadership of acting head Julius Mkhwanazi, the EMPD entered into what he characterised as illicit arrangements with private security companies, and how multiple EMPD members are now facing criminal investigations. One of the most serious claims: that whistle-blower Jaco Hanekom was murdered shortly after providing CCTV footage exposing a rogue EMPD operation beyond the department’s jurisdiction.
According to Spies, in late 2022 a group of EMPD officers – acting on the authority of Mkhwanazi – carried out an operation in Meyerton, approximately 75 km outside Ekurhuleni’s jurisdiction, involving copper cable theft. He told the Commission: “This whole operation is irregular and I don’t think there’s any proof within the City of Ekurhuleni that it was ever authorised.” The footage of the officers arriving at the business premises was supplied by Hanekom, who shortly thereafter was killed. Spies indicated the matter had been reported to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) and arrests made of EMPD personnel.
Beyond that, the Commission heard about two written MoUs with the private security firm of alleged tender-tycoon Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala. Through those agreements, Matlala’s companies — including Cat VIP Security and Medicare 24 — were granted policing-style powers. They included having private vehicles equipped with blue lights (a function reserved for official law enforcement under the National Road Traffic Act) and being included in crime-scene work, arrests and investigations. Spies emphasised the legal absurdity of the arrangement: “It’s as if we outsource law enforcement to a private company… you will actually act as a policeman.”
Moreover, Spies testified that Mkhwanazi himself allegedly forged signatures of senior management in the EMPD so as to validate those MoUs and disguise the private-company infiltration of official policing functions. In one case, Matlala’s firm provided the city with a helicopter for only two hours per month—hardly an effective policing asset, argued Spies—while the vehicles of Matlala’s firm were registered as municipal assets and affixed with emergency lights.
Adding to the gravity of the situation, evidence at the Commission revealed multiple criminal allegations involving the EMPD’s “SWAT” unit which Mkhwanazi once oversaw. Former EMPD chief Jabulani Mapiyey testified that this unit operated “more like a mafia outfit than a police team,” citing cases of murder, kidnapping, hijacking, theft, extortion and impersonation of Hawks officials. One startling example referenced by the Commission involved a murder in Brakpan in April 2022, where the victim’s body was allegedly loaded onto a civilian vehicle and dumped in a river. Mapiyeye claimed Mkhwanazi was immediately called to the scene.
Together these threads outline a culture of impunity, according to Spies. He told the inquiry that senior officials within the City of Ekurhuleni, including the city manager, head of legal services and human resources, facilitated or concealed the misconduct. For example, although the internal investigation unearthed “clear malfeasance” in the blue-light vehicle saga, the council rejected a motion to suspend Mkhwanazi and the disciplinary process stalled.
What emerges is more than a single scandal: the Commission’s testimony suggests the EMPD under certain leadership became a vehicle for private interests, where policing powers were blurred, jurisdictional boundaries ignored, and traditional oversight mechanisms bypassed.
The case of the murdered whistle-blower is especially alarming. Hanekom’s role in providing the CCTV footage is central. It appears that shortly after several EMPD officers were arrested in connection with the Meyerton copper theft, Hanekom was killed. The timing and context raise questions about whether his murder was directly connected to his role in exposing the illegal operation. The Citizen+1
At the heart of the inquiry is the fundamental question: what happens when the very institution entrusted with policing is infiltrated by private security firms and criminal syndicates, and when its leaders circumvent legal frameworks to accommodate them? The Madlanga Commission’s ongoing work may reveal systemic failures that go beyond isolated misconduct, implicating institutional structures, municipal governance and the rule of law itself.
While investigations are underway, the seriousness of the allegations means that accountability and reform cannot simply wait. The citizens of Ekurhuleni and South Africa at large still await answers—and justice.
