The Madlanga Commission on Monday viewed CCTV footage allegedly showing Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) Chief Julius Mkhwanazi at the scene of an illegal copper cable theft operation in Meyerton.
The video, presented as evidence before the commission, has intensified scrutiny of Mkhwanazi’s conduct and the extent of alleged corruption within the EMPD.
The footage, captured during what investigators believe was an unlawful operation, shows Mkhwanazi arriving at a Meyerton property alongside other EMPD officers.
The commission heard that the man who initially secured the footage, an informant named Jaco Hanekom, was later murdered in what witnesses suspect was a targeted hit.
Testifying before the commission, retired EMPD deputy chief Revo Spies confirmed that no official record existed of any EMPD-sanctioned operation in Meyerton on the date of the alleged theft.
He explained that the area fell well outside the department’s jurisdiction and that any such intervention would therefore have been illegal.
“This is a crime that’s taking place, and there will not be a record of crime,” Spies told commissioners Sesi Baloyi SC and Sandile Khumalo SC.
Spies said the footage depicted officers gathering around vehicles near the scene before Mkhwanazi emerged from one of them.
He further revealed that the same group of officers had been implicated in multiple other crimes, including theft, kidnapping, and defeating the ends of justice, though many of those cases were later withdrawn.
Spies also noted that the informant’s footage was nearly lost after the implicated officers attempted to confiscate what they believed to be the original hard drive from the property, only to take an empty one.
“The footage they were after was already backed up elsewhere,” Spies testified.
The revelations form part of a broader investigation into alleged corruption, abuse of authority, and criminal infiltration within the EMPD, a focus that has dominated the Madlanga Commission’s recent hearings.
As previously reported, Spies has been a central witness in the inquiry, linking Mkhwanazi to several controversial operations involving businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and his private security companies.
These companies are alleged to have operated unlawfully under the guise of municipal law enforcement, using blue lights and other police identifiers without authorisation.
The commission continues to examine evidence connecting Mkhwanazi and Matlala to a series of unlawful activities, including falsified agreements that gave private security personnel powers reserved for police.
The Madlanga Commission will resume later this week with further testimony expected to address the alleged misuse of EMPD resources and the network of criminal activity that has emerged from the ongoing inquiry.
The Madlanga Commission proceedings were ongoing when this article was published.
