Madlanga Commission hears how EMPD's Mkhwanazi abused his powers in fraudulent deal with Matlala

Further details on how suspended EMPD acting head, Julius Mkhwanazi, abused his powers and signed off on a fraudulent deal between criminally accused tender tycoon, Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, have been revealed.

Testifying before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, former head of employee relations at the City of Ekurhuleni, Xolani Nciza, highlighted how fundamentally flawed and irregular the agreement was.

READ: Cases of fraud, defamation opened against Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo

Mkhwanazi struck a deal between the EMPD and two of Matlala’s companies in 2021, ultimately allowing Matlala’s private security vehicles to be fitted with blue lights.

The deal that Mkhwanazi entered into with Matlala would see Matlala donating several high-end vehicles to the City of Ekurhuleni. In exchange, Matlala would enjoy protection from the EMPD and the city.

These vehicles would subsequently be registeredas municipal vehicles but were never utilised by municipal officials. Instead, Matlala retained the vehicles for personal use.

Former head of employee relations at the City of Ekurhuleni, Xolani Nciza, alleged that the deal acted as a cover to allow Matlala to use these vehicles to evade the law.

"These vehicles were utilised by the donor, so there is no benefit to the institution that derived from the donation."

At least five BMWs from Matlala’s private security company, Cat VIP Protection, were registered to the City of Ekurhuleni.

"Vehicles of this nature would probably go into the millions in terms of their value."

Nciza emphasises that the memorandums of agreement drawn up and signed off by Mkhwanazi were unlawful, and more importantly, Mkhwanazi was not authorised to enter into such agreements.

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