The Madlanga Commission resumes in Pretoria today with a rare double bill: suspended Ekurhuleni metro police deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi continues his evidence in the morning, followed by a second round of testimony from suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu.
A live stream of proceedings will be embedded in this article.
According to earlier testimony and reporting on Wednesday’s session, Mkhwanazi has already admitted driving to a controversial copper theft scene in Meyerton and conceded he “acted incorrectly” in signing paperwork at the heart of the so-called blue-lights saga.
Mkhwanazi back on the stand
On his first day in the witness box, Mkhwanazi told the commission he visited the Meyerton scrapyard where EMPD officers were filmed removing copper cables, saying he was there for “two or three minutes” to celebrate what informant Jaco Hanekom described as a successful recovery of stolen goods.
He confirmed that Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) officials have questioned him about three separate matters: the illegal fitting of blue lights to vehicles linked to tenderpreneur Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, a Brakpan murder scene where a suspect was allegedly tortured and dumped in a dam, and the Meyerton copper case.
“All these allegations, I submitted statements,” he said of his engagement with Ipid.
Mkhwanazi is also expected to face further questions about memorandums of understanding with Matlala’s Cat VIP Protection Services and healthcare company Medicare24.
He has already acknowledged that he did not have authority to sign an MOU with Cat VIP on behalf of the EMPD, telling the commission, “I accept 100%,” while arguing that some documents were only “proposed” agreements that still needed city approval.
Senzo Mchunu to answer follow-up questions
Once Mkhwanazi steps down, attention will turn back to Senzo Mchunu, who used his first appearance this week to defend his role in shutting down the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT).
Mchunu told the commission that a 2016 work-study report had already recommended that the PKTT be “disestablished” and its members absorbed into a strengthened murder and robbery unit, insisting the task team “was never intended to be a permanent unit”.
He argued that by the time he became minister, the PKTT had run beyond its original six-month mandate and should have been integrated into SAPS structures, saying his intention was to rationalise overlapping units, not to “disband” operational capacity.
Mchunu also stressed he had “never been accused of corruption, not once” in his political career, framing the decision as part of a broader reform push.
Previous witnesses, including SAPS legal head Maj-Gen Petronella van Rooyen and KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, have alleged that the minister overstepped his powers and was effectively “influenced” by Matlala when the PKTT was scrapped – claims the commission is expected to probe further when Mchunu returns to the stand.
Commission enters final stretch
Commission spokesperson Jeremy Michaels has confirmed this is the final week of public hearings for 2025, with commissioners working towards submitting an interim report to President Cyril Ramaphosa by 17 December.
Today’s sitting, featuring both Mkhwanazi and Mchunu, is therefore central to how the panel will ultimately assess allegations of political interference, blue-lights abuses and the handling of political killings investigations.
Readers can follow every exchange from the Madlanga Commission via the live stream embedded below.
