Nine current and former Ekurhuleni metro municipality workers and five police officers implicated in the Madlanga commission’s interim report have been referred to the police for criminal investigation. The commission found that there is prima facie evidence against them after their names were mentioned in the commission which is investigating allegations of criminality, political interference and corruption in the criminal justice system. President Cyril Ramaphosa, who established the commission last year, welcomed the referral yesterday.
His spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said: “President Ramaphosa welcomes the referrals by the commission of matters for immediate criminal investigation and urgent decisions on prosecution, as well as recommendations on the employment status and recommended suspension of individuals.” As a result, Ramaphosa has directed acting police minister Prof Firoz Cachalia and national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola to constitute a special investigations task team, with a leader who will report directly to Masemola. “The task team will institute investigations against people identified by the commission for investigation,” said Magwenya. Senior researcher and policing expert Johan Burger said the president’s decision to establish a task team was a step towards holding people accountable.
“I think this is a good development in holding those named and accused of wrongdoing accountable,” Burger said. “The task team will have to conduct a criminal investigation to help them to take [the matters] to court. Mkhwanazi, the suspended deputy chief of the Ekurhuleni metro police, is accused of fitting blue lights to a fleet of cars belonging to alleged drug cartel member Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
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He is also accused of covering up the murder of a civilian who was tortured during an investigation in April 2022. The three Ekurhuleni metro cops are accused of torturing and murdering a civilian during their interrogation. They allegedly called Julius Mkhwanazi, who advised them to dispose of the body at a mine dump.
They were arrested and charged, but the case was withdrawn from the court roll. The former Ekurhuleni municipal manager is accused of protecting Mkhwanazi from facing suspension and criminal charges as recommended by the police watchdog for fitting blue lights to Matlala’s fleet. Gxasheka is head of the HR department in Ekurhuleni, while Behari is head of the city’s legal unit. Both are accused of working with Mashazi to block the suspension of Mkhwanazi for fitting Matlala’s fleet with blue lights.
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