 and tender-linked businessman Vusimusi "Cat" Matlala’s security company, Cat VIP Services.){kind=link}
By Johnathan Paoli
Former City of Ekurhuleni employee relations head Xolani Nciza has accused suspended metro police deputy chief Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi of misrepresenting himself as the acting chief of police and fabricating an agreement between the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) and tender-linked businessman Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala’s security company, Cat VIP Services.
Continuing his testimony before the Madlanga Commission on Wednesday, Nciza said documents compiled during an internal investigation revealed that Mkhwanazi had presented himself as both “Brigadier” and “Acting Chief of Police”; a dual title which, he insisted, was not normal and suggested deliberate misrepresentation.
“I found it problematic that he used two titles in the same communication,” Nciza said, noting that the letter’s contents implied Mkhwanazi was obfuscating his role in order to legitimise unauthorised dealings.
Although some commissioners questioned whether Nciza was over-interpreting the issue, he maintained that the surrounding circumstances, including the alleged fake memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Cat VIP, proved Mkhwanazi’s intent to deceive.
“He was grossly dishonest to claim that there was a memorandum of understanding between the municipality and Cat VIP. There was no such memorandum. The fact that there is a draft—it is just a draft. There is no actual agreement that existed,” Nciza testified.
According to Nciza, the so-called MOU was used by Mkhwanazi to suggest that the EMPD had an “endless working relationship” with Matlala’s company, which had previously been linked to tender corruption at Tembisa Hospital which was exposed by whistleblower Babita Deokaran before her 2021 assassination.
Nciza described Mkhwanazi’s actions as a “gross misrepresentation” of municipal authority.
“Firstly, there is no working relationship, let alone an endless one. He had his working relationship, not the municipality’s,” he said.
The testimony came as part of broader allegations against Mkhwanazi, who is accused of running a rogue EMPD unit, avoiding police vetting, and being an accessory to murder.
Nciza confirmed that the municipality had initiated disciplinary action against him in early 2023, with both a pre-suspension and formal suspension letter prepared between 20 and 24 February that year.
The suspension, he said, was designed to prevent Mkhwanazi from interfering with investigations into his alleged misconduct.
A preliminary probe led by EMPD Integrity Unit officer Lieutenant Colonel Hennie Erasmus and Deputy Chief Revo Spies had compiled a 250-page report justifying the disciplinary charges.
“The report ticked all the relevant boxes. It recommended that Mkhwanazi face a disciplinary inquiry,” Nciza said.
However, the process was later stalled when senior EMPD officials, including suspended Police Chief Jabulani Mapiyeye, informed Nciza that the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) was preparing to arrest Mkhwanazi on criminal charges.
They argued that proceeding with an internal inquiry would amount to fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
Nciza said this effectively froze the disciplinary process, even though the EMPD’s internal code required hearings to begin within three months of suspension.
He also recounted a tense exchange with an HR official tasked with finalising Mkhwanazi’s pre-suspension letter.
The official expressed fear for her safety, citing Mkhwanazi’s connection to Matlala and the violent nature of previous corruption-linked cases.
“‘Xolani, I do not want this because I have got a small child,’ she told me. She did not want to be placed under protection because she feared intrusion into her private life,” Nciza said.
He said that despite these fears, the municipality went ahead with the suspension notice, which was issued on 24 February 2023 and limited to three months.
But the disciplinary inquiry never materialised.
Nciza reiterated that Mkhwanazi’s conduct amounted to a pattern of deception; from falsely presenting himself as acting chief to constructing a personal alliance with Matlala’s company under the guise of municipal cooperation.
The commission continues.
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