By Sihle Mavuso
A senior Human Resources (HR) manager at the Durban Metro Police has taken early retirement after allegedly being implicated in a recruitment corruption scandal.
Mhlonipheni Bodlani recently left the force after taking extended sick leave, which he reportedly exhausted while facing questions about his alleged involvement in the recruitment scandal.
According to several sources, Bodlani allegedly solicited bribes of up to R50,000 from candidates in exchange for facilitating their recruitment into the Durban Metro Police, but allegedly failed to deliver on his promises.
The alleged victims subsequently reported the matter to authorities, with the investigation assigned to the City Integrity and Investigations Unit (CIIU), an eThekwini Municipality unit responsible for investigating fraud and corruption involving municipal employees.
Durban Metro Police spokesperson Boysie Zungu confirmed Bodlani had left the force but did not provide details about the circumstances surrounding his departure.
“We can only confirm that Mr Bodlani retired,” Zungu told Inside Politics when asked about the matter.
A source within the force said Bodlani had come under pressure from people who allegedly claimed he had taken money from them to facilitate their recruitment into the metro police but failed to deliver.
“Some of his victims would come to work looking for him, and he took a long sick leave,” the source said.
“He later came back and took an early retirement after it emerged that he is also said to have taken money from other metro police officers to recruit their children and relatives into the force. We suspect that made him decide to leave,” the source added.
A second source alleged that Bodlani had been implicated in a CIIU investigation, which prompted his decision to take early retirement.
“There were recommendations by the CIIU that he should be criminally charged with all the officers he worked with in this corruption and he decided to leave. The HR was not supposed to allow him to leave,” the source said.
Allegations of recruitment corruption at the Durban Metro Police first emerged in early 2025, when claims surfaced that some officers paraded at that year’s pass-out ceremony had allegedly been placed in positions intended for candidates who had passed written and physical fitness tests.
Some recruits were allegedly identified as children of ANC councillors who had been recruited through a former leader of the ANC Women’s League in the eThekwini region.
In June, Durban Metro Police Constable Zwile Ximba, a former SAPS officer, was arrested for allegedly taking bribes from members of the public and promising them jobs in the force.
Ximba was subsequently granted bail by the Durban Magistrates’ Court.
Also in June, the Mail & Guardian reported that a whistleblower had alleged in a letter that the Durban Metro Police was a criminal enterprise controlled by a powerful cabal that recruited relatives and politically connected individuals into the force.
The whistleblower alleged that Ximba’s arrest was only “the tip of the iceberg”.
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