Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi was captured on CCTV footage of an alleged copper cable theft by EMPD officers – and, according to evidence led at the commission, the man responsible for securing that footage was murdered shortly after implicated officers were granted bail on another case.

News24 reports that retired EMPD deputy chief of police for auxiliary and logistical support, Revo Spies, yesterday said that investigations had revealed that there was no record of any EMPD operation at the Meyerton plot where the alleged copper theft had taken place, and no record of any copper being seized by officers.

In response to questions from Commissioner Sesi Baloyi, Spies emphasised that Meyerton was so far outside of the EMPD’s jurisdiction that no legitimate EMPD operation there would have been allowed. 

‘This is a crime that’s taking place and there will not be a record of crime,’ he said.

Business Day reports that Spies addressed ‘rogue’ police officers under special services headed by Mkhwanazi. He said three officers – Adrian McKenzie, Bafana Twala and Kesha-Lee Stals – were implicated in numerous criminal cases but have not been disciplined or prosecuted as some of their cases have remained under investigation for years.

Spies has supported evidence given by suspended EMPD Chief Jabulani Isaac Mapiyeye, who last week detailed the struggles he faced in ensuring that Mkhwanazi was held accountable for enabling tenderpreneur Vusimusi ‘Cat’ Matlala’s companies to register their cars as EMPD vehicles and to be fitted with the blue lights exclusively reserved for law enforcement. 

News24 notes that Mkhwanazi signed memorandums of agreement in 2021 and 2022 that enabled Matlala’s companies, among other things, to assist in tracking down criminals, taking blood at roadblocks, and providing ‘legal advice’ during drug busts – something that Spies described as laughable.

When the EMPD reported the Matlala ‘blue lights’ saga to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, he said, an investigating officer had revealed that there were multiple criminal complaints against not only the brigadier, but certain of the officers who reported to him.

That investigator claimed that Mkhwanazi was under investigation over allegations that he was ‘an accessory after the fact’ at a murder scene, which he was accused of helping to ‘clean up’.

Full News24 report

Full Business Day report