Julius Mkhwanazi denies kidnapping Ekurhuleni metro police spokesperson

The suspended Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) deputy chief has denied any involvement in the kidnapping and attacks on his departmental spokesperson. Julius Mkhwanazi on Tuesday distanced himself from the three incidents that happened to EMPD spokespersonKelebogile Thepain July 2024 in which she was attacked, kidnapped and had a firearm pointed at her. Thepa previously told the commission that she believed the attacks were related to how she responded to and handled media enquiries about the blue lights saga linked to Mkhwanazi and Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala.

Responding to the allegations, Mkhwanazi told the commission that Thepa had faked her tears when she narrated the story to the commission. The commission is also investigating whether Mkhwanazi misled the commission when he applied for a postponement last month. Mkhwanazi’s reason was that he wanted to attend his mother’s funeral.

However, according to advocate Sello Mahlape, the details of the deceased that Mkhwanazi claimed to be his mother showed that the deceased was only 10 years older than Mkhwanazi. Mkhwanazi had provided his mother’s funeral programme and other supporting documents to prove the validity of his request. Furthermore, department of home affairs records showed that Mkhwanazi’s mother was a different person.

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Mahlape told the commission she has concluded that Mkhwanazi might have lied so he could avoid appearing before it. “After the postponement was granted and a few days later in the course of the preparation of documents, the documents were prepared and we realised that this person happens to be 10 years older than Mkhwanazi, and it raised an issue of whether Mkhwanazi lied to the commission, misled the commission to avoid having to appear,” Mahlape said.

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