The Madlanga Commission has turned its focus to how vehicles belonging to Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala were registered under the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD), despite incomplete documentation and questions over proper authority.
Evidence leader Advocate Mahlape Sello on Wednesday pressed suspended deputy police chief, Commissioner Julius Mkhwanazi, on why the EMPD proceeded with registering Matlala’s vehicles when the required letter of intention had not been signed.
Mkhwanazi conceded that he had no mandate to enter into any agreement between the EMPD and CAT VIP Protection Services. He also denied involvement in installing blue lights on Matlala’s vehicles. However, Sello argued that the registration alone indicated his role in facilitating the process.
“You must admit that you facilitated that process through the registration of those vehicles in the municipality’s name, in circumstances where the municipality didn’t have control over those cars,” she put to him.
The evidence leader later informed the commission that Mkhwanazi’s testimony covers numerous issues and cannot be completed in one sitting. She requested that only one part of his evidence be heard for now, with the remainder postponed to a later date. Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, who had been due to testify, will now take the stand next.
Meanwhile, political tensions have spilled into the open. ActionSA has accused the Democratic Alliance (DA) of ignoring signs of wrongdoing in Ekurhuleni, after Mkhwanazi claimed senior management including former mayor Tania Campbell had been briefed on his collaboration with Matlala.
ActionSA’s Ekurhuleni spokesperson, Tumelo Tshabalala, said Campbell had been singled out by Mkhwanazi as a senior political figure aware of the security arrangement.
“If there is anyone who turned a blind eye to this criminality, it is the DA’s alderwoman Tania Campbell,” Tshabalala said.
He criticised what he described as a broader culture of the city’s executive bypassing council oversight, citing incidents such as withheld forensic reports.
The commission will reconvene on a date yet to be determined to continue with Mkhwanazi’s testimony.