EMPD head details how Mkhwanazi aided Matlala with blue lights
Suspended Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) head, Isaac Mapiyeye, has revealed how criminally-accused tender beneficiary Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala managed to establish a working relationship with the city through EMPD’s leadership.
Mapiyeye testified before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry in Pretoria on Thursday.
He said the deal involved two memorandums of understanding signed in 2021 between Matlala’s companies, Medicare Emergency Medical Services and CAT VIP Protection, and the EMPD.
According to Mapiyeye, the memoranda would have allowed the companies to provide services to the EMPD in exchange for favours from the metro police.
He accused Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi, the current acting EMPD head, of colluding with Matlala by signing the agreements without proper authority.
“The protocol is that if Brigadier Mkhwanazi signed it, he was supposed to take it to the deputy chief, Mr Mzolo, who would then bring it to me and explain.
"Only then would I approve or reject it,” Mapiyeye said. “In fact, I would not have supported these agreements, because this is not a process we should be following.”
Mapiyeye, who faces an internal probe for sexual misconduct, told the commission that Mkhwanazi acted independently in entering into the agreements, effectively bypassing the EMPD’s chain of command.
Mkhwanazi was placed on special leave over a month ago following the revelations.
Mapiyeye also outlined the EMPD’s structure and powers, emphasising the limited mandate of municipal police officers.
"While the EMPD is tasked with traffic policing, municipal bylaw enforcement, and crime prevention, it does not have investigative powers.
"Arrests for crimes not committed in the presence of EMPD officers must be handed over to the South African Police Service (SAPS)," he explained.
“Officers cannot investigate properties or crimes outside their mandate,” Mapiyeye told the commission. “Wearing a uniform does not give them carte blanche to act outside the law.”
He said these constraints could be exploited, allowing unscrupulous actors to manipulate municipal resources.
“Had we been properly consulted, these agreements with Matlala would not have happened. The proper checks and balances were ignored.”
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