Ekurhuleni legal head concedes letter ‘looked like an attack’ on Ipid’s report on Mkhwanazi

General overview at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry at Brigitte Mabandla Judicial College in Pretoria on 22 September 2025. Picture: Gallo Images/Luba Lesolle Ekurhuleni’s head of legal services, Kemi Behari, conceded that the letter drafted by his department in response to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate’s (Ipid) report on suspended EMPD deputy commissioner Julius Mkhwanazi “looked like an attack”. Behari returned to the Madlanga commission on Tuesday, where he addressed allegations that he protected Mkhwanazi.

Mkhwanazi was placed on special leave in September last year after being linked to controversial businessman Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala. Mkhwanazi faced allegations of serious misconduct, and Ipid’s preliminary report in December 2023 called for disciplinary action against him. In November last year, former Ekurhuleni employee relations director Xolani Nciza told the commission that the allegations against Mkhwanazi were “serious”.

In response to Ipid’s report, Behari’s department instead drafted a letter suggesting it would be “difficult to prove fraud and corruption” against Mkhwanazi. His reasons for such submissions failed to convince the commissioners on Tuesday. Although Behari testified that the letter was never sent to Ipid, the commission found evidence of an intention to do so.