Madlanga Commission: Top legal official admits significant gaps led to corruption case lapse

Ekurhuleni Municipality’s suspended Head of Legal, Khemraj Behari, has been grilled over his decision not to support the extension of the suspension of a corruption-accused senior metro officer.

Behari has been testifying before the Madlanga Commission regarding allegations that he shielded corrupt senior police officers from accountability.

READ: Suspended Ekurhuleni legal head denies R600k raise was bribe for shielding cops

In February 2023, the Deputy Chief of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD), Julius Mkhwanazi, was suspended for allegedly fitting blue lights into vehicles belonging to crime boss Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala.

Colonel Hennie Erasmus, who works in the EMPD’s Integrity and Standards Unit, headed up the investigation against Mkhwanazi.

In May 2023, Erasmus approached Behari to draft a legal notice that would provide a basis to extend Mkhwanazi’s suspension as it was coming to an end.

In his statement to the Madlanga Commission, Behari said there were significant evidentiary gaps in Erasmus’s investigation, and he could not draft that letter until they were addressed.

KB: “When he came to me, it was about supporting the extension of the suspension. We had an engagement, and I said to him, ‘These are what I think are problematic, and these are things we have to close, and these are the witnesses we have to get.’ It was never finalised. I said, ‘Can I speak to the Chief of Police?’ Then the Chief of Police called me for a meeting, but by that time, the suspension had lapsed.”

Mbuyiseli Madlanga (Commission Chairperson): “Effectively, you let the suspension expire.”

Behari admitted that in hindsight, he should have supported the extension of the suspension.